Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition

The Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition Is HERE!

This Year’s Competition Final Presentations are scheduled for November 19, 2013 at the Ontario Convention Center!

The Student Fast Pitch Competition is an innovative program offered by Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) that gives CSUSB students an opportunity to jump-start their entrepreneurial dreams by presenting their business venture to a panel of investors and entrepreneurs.

The annual competition consists of up to 15 student entrepreneurs giving 90-second fast pitches to a panel of investors and other members of Southern California's entrepreneurial community. Each fast pitch is judged for the quality of the presentation and its investment potential.

Why Should You Enter the Fast Pitch Competition?

Students with an idea for a new business venture of any type are encouraged to enter. Why? By entering, you will:

1. Learn how to present your idea to potential investors in less than 90-seconds and sharpen your communication skills.
2. Get feedback from local business experts on the quality of your business idea.
3. Have a chance to win the $4,000 cash prize for first place or cash prizes for 2nd thru 5th place.

What Does a Fast Pitch Sound Like?

Find out here as the five (5) finalists for the Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition at Cal State University San Bernardino make their 90-second pitches to an audience of nearly 600 business leaders.

How Do I Enter?

Entering the Fast Pitch Competition is easy! All you need to do is:

Submit your entry by Tuesday April 16, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.. Once your application is received along with a 250-word summary of the business concept, you will be in the running to be one of the 15 students selected to make a fast pitch at the qualifying event on Thursday May 16, 2013 at the historic Mission Inn and Spa in Riverside. At the qualifying event our panel of judges (investors, entrepreneurs) select the top 5 students who will receive additional mentoring and coaching in preparation of making their pitch at the Spirit of the Entrepreneur event.

Download the Fast Pitch Entry Form:

Fast Pitch Entry Form (PDF Format).
Opening this file requires Adobe Reader.

Guidelines for Writing a Description of Your Business Concept (PDF Format).
Opening this file requires Adobe Reader.

If you have questions about the competition or entry process, contact Monica Brule at Phone: 909.537.3217
or Email: mbrule@csusb.edu

What Happens After I Enter?

All student entries will be evaluated by a panel of experts from Cal State San Bernardino's Entrepreneurship program.

From the entries, we will select up to 15 students as semi-finalists who will receive mentoring and coaching in preparation of making a 90-second pitch to a panel of investors at the qualifying event on May 16, 2013 .

At that event, 5 finalists will be chosen to make a final pitch on November 19 at which time the cash prizes will be awarded!

Criteria

The following criteria must be followed to enter the Garner Holt Student Fast Pitch Competition:

1. All students entering must be currently enrolled at Cal State San Bernardino at the undergraduate or graduate level.
2. All students will pitch proposed business ideas or businesses that have been in operation less than 1 year.
3. All submitted materials must be the original work of the student.

The Fast Pitch Review Committee reserves the right to reject any business idea for the following reasons:

1. Deemed to be in violation of the CSUSB Code of Ethics.
2. Violates any local, state or national law.
3. Appears to be pornographic in nature.