Elevator Pitch Ep. 6: 'Is Ryan Reynolds One of Our Co-Founders?' Will anyone earn an investment for their business on this episode of our weekly pitch show?
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch invites ambitious entrepreneurs to step into the Entrepreneur Elevator, and then gives them just 60 seconds to pique the interest of a group of judges. It's a high-pressure, fast-paced environment in which startup founders need to race against the clock while maintaining their composure to make a clear, deliberate pitch that covers at least three essential components:
- Defining the company
- Making the request
- Specifying what the investment money will be used for
The investors watch the pitch via a video livestream while the elevator ascends to the boardroom floor. Once the 60 seconds are up, the judges vote on whether to open the doors or send the founder back down and pass on investing.
Peter Goldberg, founder of PLG Ventures, opens this episode of Elevator Pitch by introducing our four investors: Kim Perell, serial entrepreneur; Ross O'Brien, managing partner of Entrepreneur Select; Elaine Russell, co-lead of Greycroft's Albertsons Fund; and Alison Wyatt, CEO of Female Founder Collective. Each of the four judges are working from their homes or offices, watching the pitches over livestream.
Related: Elevator Pitch Ep. 5: 'This Has Never Happened in the History of Elevator Pitch'
Kadi Correia of Merati is the first entrepreneur featured in this episode. She describes Merati as a full-service modular home-builder and community developer intended to address the need for 10 million more homes in America. She wows the judges with the $2.5 million in pre-sales Merati has managed to date, but there are questions about the product and valuation. Will the investors be intrigued enough to open the doors and learn more?
Next comes Nick Walker, the co-founder of Cana, which produces cachaça, a Brazilian liquor. Walker claims cachaça is to rum what champagne is to sparkling wine, and that his product is particularly special. However, without the ability to offer a sample due to the long-distance nature of the pitch, will Walker be able to intrigue the investors? More importantly, will any of them be willing to offer him the $650,000 he's looking for without knowing the company's valuation or revenue?
Watch now to find out and watch more great pitches.
