Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 3 Episode 3: Circus Act or Class Act? Every founder who pitches on our weekly show has their own style. But the investors' decisions ultimately boil down to whether a business can scale.
Many entrepreneurs claim to have innovative solutions to problems that plague millions. But it doesn't matter how good someone's idea is, or how much energy they have in pitching it. It matters whether they can build a viable business around their product.
On every episode of Entrepreneur's weekly pitch show, Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, contestants get just 60 seconds to sell a panel of four prominent investor judges on their ability to do just that. That minute-long pitch happens inside the Entrepreneur Elevator, while the judges watch via livestream on an upper floor.
When the time is up, the entrepreneur waits anxiously (or kills time doing a product demo) just steps away from the deliberating investors behind the Entrepreneur Elevator doors. The judges then vote: Should they grant the contestant more time to elaborate and potentially seal a deal, or have they heard all they need to hear?
Related: Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 3 Episode 2: 'You Gotta Discuss It Right Now'
The investors don't always agree right away on whether to open the doors or to send an entrepreneur down without facetime with them. From there, in cases where they do concede to let them in, they don't always see eye to eye on what's a reasonable deal.
From a group of guys who aim to "change education" for "the Wi-Fi generation" to a woman who thinks her app is the cure to loneliness, this week's ideas run the gamut. One founder admits how he's faced obstacles in selling his promising product. Guest judge and PLG Ventures founder Peter Goldberg asks him, "How, as the CEO of this company, are you going to implement and execute to make this a successful business?"
The entrepreneur responds with a surprising story that makes the panel realize, maybe it's a "no for now" and an opportunity to share their robust networks in the meantime.
Should a pitch make or break an entrepreneur's chances at funding? How important is the ability to think on your feet as a business leader? Stream this week's episode of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch above to find out which companies entice the investors.
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch in partnership with Sports 1 Marketing streams Wednesdays on entrepreneur.com. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.
