With dreams of entrepreneurial success floating through their heads, 25 students gathered in Carson Hall Monday night to attend a lecture on how to create an effective pitch for new business ideas.
Gregg Fairbrothers, executive director of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, delivered the executive summary workshop yesterday to members of the Club of Dartmouth Entrepreneurs and other students interested in presenting ideas for new business enterprises.
Fairbrothers stressed the need for proper planning when entrepreneurs begin developing ideas that they hope to market eventually.
"Don't think product ... think about the market," Fairbrothers said. He underscored the need for entrepreneurs to focus on the group to whom they will be selling their idea.
Fairbrothers also renounced the theory of "First Mover Advantage," which holds that the first person to market an idea to consumers has an inherent advantage over anyone who subsequently pitches the idea.
Instead, Fairbrothers encouraged young entrepreneurs not to discount their ideas for business ventures that other people have explored before them; rather, they should concentrate on the mitigation of risk from an investor's perspective.
"Risk is what people care about; they don't care about originality. They want to remove risk," Fairbrothers said.
He advocated a Powerpoint presentation with strategies developed to maximize the amount of information presented to the audience while maintaining their attention as the proper way to present a business plan. Successful presentations should identify and demonstrate understanding of the competition the entrepreneur will face, the financial forecasts for the plan and the people who will be involved with the project.
In addition, Fairbrothers reviewed strategies for the most effective "elevator pitches" and executive summaries. An elevator pitch is a one minute oral presentation designed to highlight the most important points of the business plan being considered.
Executive summaries are essentially one to two page written versions of elevator pitches. These handouts are designed to catch the attention of potential investors and provide them with some vital information concerning the entrepreneurial venture.
Fairbrothers concluded his presentation by showing the audience examples of some well-written executive summaries to serve as helpful guides for students trying to pitch an idea or enter a business plan competition.
Overall, the presentation was well-received by audience members.
"I found the workshop to be very helpful," Vincent Accurso '06 said. "It really helped me in understanding the basics of starting a business and pitching new ideas to potential investors."
The lecture supplements the business idea competition the Club of Dartmouth Entrepreneurs is currently holding. Prizes include an iPod, free enrollment in a class at Tuck and a monetary reward. Submissions are due by May 18.
