PROVIDENCE – A Roger Williams University student was named top presenter at the 2015 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition’s Elevator Pitch Contest Thursday.
Willem Delventhal, a senior from East Haddam, Conn., pitched an online greeting card service that would allow recipients to interactively engage in a 1 minute game with senders, according to a press release from the competition.
Delventhal’s service, which he calls “Nuanotes,” will offer a “customizable video experience that slowly reveals the intended message as the recipient plays the game,” according to the release.
In accordance with contest rules, Delventhal’s pitch was made in 90 seconds or less to a panel of eight judges.
A total of 26 contestants delivered individual pitches, but just 10 – including Delventhal – took home a total of $1,000 in cash prizes.
“Rhode Island is getting a well-deserved reputation as the startup state, and the ideas showcased at last evening’s contest showed why,” said Anthony Mangiarelli, co-chair of the competition. Mangiarelli is a principal with the accounting firm KLR.
The Elevator Pitch Contest, in its ninth year, drew a crowd of 80 who listened to the presenters’ pitch ideas. The judges provided each presenter with feedback about the “clarity and persuasiveness of the pitch,” according to the release.
Other winning contestants were:
- Charles Chase, who pitched RI Hydroponic Lettuce, which he wants to complement his locally produced maple syrup business
- Melissa Desrochers, for Pick-Ease, an eating utensil for children who are considered to be picky eaters
- Vyoma Gandhi, a Brown University student, who pitched Plasmonics, a device to diagnose early onset of certain types of cancer
- Alyssa Garrett and Gareth Rose, both Brown students, for RoadMap, an online marketplace to help high school students find the right college
- Daniel Giovacchini, a Brown student, who pitched TrustFall, a fall-detection belt designed for elderly people that automatically notifies loved ones when the user has fallen
- Alter Jackson, a Brown student, who pitched Z-Zoom, a technology that informs automotive dealerships about the status of the cars in its lots
- Michael Markarian, for Mount Dream, a service that helps people decide if their business idea is worth pursuing
- Dena Paolino, who pitched Striking Beauties Boxing Gym for Women, which makes boxing gloves for women
- Meghan Pike and Tiffany Harrison Givens, for Harrison+Pike, a company that aims to bolster manufacturing in Rhode Island with nautically inspired jewelry and accessories
Since its inception, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, which has been named one of the top 40 business plan competitions in the country, has awarded more than $1.6 million in prizes to competitors developing companies.
More information about the competition and the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition can be found HERE.
