Stepping into an elevator on the first floor, you realize that not only is there another person in the elevator, but that person is also a potential investor. This is your chance. You realize that you have until you reach the top floor to make your pitch and impress this person.

Creighton students will have the opportunity to pitch potential business ideas to judges in the amount of time it takes to ride in an elevator – 60 seconds. The Bluejay Elevator Pitch Competition gives undergraduate, graduate and professional students of any major or school the opportunity to pitch a business idea or product in the hopes of making it a reality or winning one of the prizes.

“Sixty seconds is about all the time you have to pique their (investors’) interest,” said Anne York, associate professor of Entrepreneurship and director of Creighton Entrepreneurial programs.

Students can form a team or compete individually to win $500 for first place, $250 for second place or $100 for third place. Only one person from each team can present the team’s idea to the judges.

This competition is the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization big event of the year. It will take place in Hixson-Lied 404 from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday. Twenty teams and individuals competed last year, and the same number are expected this year.

Paul Simmet, Business senior and CEO club president, helped found Creighton’s CEO club last year. Getting the idea from national conventions, he said that the competition was a success last year, and it helped generate interest in the club.

“It ties students in with the business community,” Simmet said.

Ben Schaechter, Business sophomore and vice president of membership programming of the CEO club, and J.P. Rankin, Arts & Sciences sophomore, won last year’s competition. They heard about the competition a week before and decided to give it a shot.

“This competition is entrepreneurship in its very basic form. It’s representative of how the real world works,” Schaechter said.

Their idea, basically a “one-stop college information Web site,” lets high school students find updated college information and allows college counselors access to demographic information of potential students, he said.

It is hard to fit a complex idea into a short time, Schaechter said.

“The hardest part is finding the balance between information and a comfortable speaking pace.”

In each presentation, students should introduce their product or business idea, to whom they want to market, the plan for their product, why their idea is unique and the amount of money they need to make their idea a reality. Visuals and relevant costumes are recommended, but are not required.

York said that not all ideas have to be just about the money.

“They can just be good ideas for getting out there to help the world,” she said.

The Elevator Pitch Competition is sponsored by Dundee Bank and COBA. The judges will consist of Dundee Bank employees and bankers who have experience in this area, give advice and invest money in new ideas daily.

Simmet said that some students pitch serious business ideas that they hope to pursue.

“The judges are great contacts. It sets the wheels in motion for ideas,” he said.

For more information and judging criteria, visit the Web site http://entrepreneurship.creighton.edu.

Any Creighton student can sign up until Friday night by e-mailing Simmet at [email protected]. York’s advice to students is to not exceed the 60 second time limit and to “practice, practice, practice.”