2011 National Elevator Pitch Competition Hosted by CEO

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization will host the 2011 National Elevator Pitch Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. The competition will be part of the October 27-29th National CEO Conference and will host 60 competitors and award prizes to the top 7. The National Conference and Elevator Pitch Competition is scheduled to take place at the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth.

The competition will consist of four preliminary rounds on Friday, October 28th, each having 15 student competitors, three of those from each preliminary round will advance to the semi-final round on Saturday, October 29th. The top 6 finalists will then advance to the final elimination round from which the winners will be determined. In each round of the competition the competitors will to a panel of judges consisting of actual entrepreneurs and venture capitals along with other academic advisors and working professionals. The contestants have the opportunity to win up to $2,500 to use towards their businesses. Seven places, including four honorable mention places were given at least $500 in last year's competition.

The 2010 competition was won by Alexandra McCoy from St. Mary's University with her company "It's a Snap! Convertible Heels". McCoy explains her product as "a fashionable high heeled shoe that has interchangeable/detachable heel shafts, which allows one pair of heels to be extremely versatile. This product provides a high-value solution for women who love the look of heels, but want the comfortable feel of flats when walking or standing for long periods of time". McCoy took her prize of $2,500 and is currently working with professionals to help finalize the design and acquire a patent to protect her fantastic business idea.