I know I said my next post would be my Modus Operandi, but I lied. This PitchFest event required talking about. Note to self: the ability to disown what I say in my blog should be part of my M.O

In my warmup post, I talked about the the issues facing the Columbia entrepreneurial community and how it struggled to gain traction. I’m happy to report, just a week later, that I feel the tide may truly be turning. I’m began writing this post from Room 140, Uris Hall at Columbia University where the first ever Columbia Entrepreneur Organization’s (CEO) PitchFest was going on.

The event was a first in more ways than one though. While CEO is a graduate business school organization, the event was open to students from all of the schools as well as alumni. Flyers covered the campus. I received three separate emails for the event, and I’m an alumni. I can only imagine how many times current students were emailed. While the numbers weren’t extraordinary, the 100+ people who attended the PitchFest witnessed one of the more successful Columbia entrepreneur events I’ve seen in years.

The idea behind the event was to bring together the skills and talents of the various schools at Columbia. Each person who chose to do so was given 1 minute to present who they were, what idea or existing business they had, and what they were looking for.

I loved this framework. I believe it successfully addressed two of the most frustrating pieces to networking events.

One, everyone had a chance to participate. There were all kinds of businesses and presenters. Very few people stood to start the event, but after awhile the sheer number of presentations made it easier to take your own turn in front of the room. After all, everyone was doing it.

Two, the event was efficient. What better way to force people to hone their message than giving them only one minute? Better yet, for those in the audience, how else would you have been able to hear so many different ideas and opportunities?

Some of my favorite presentations were about:

• A medical device company specializing in handicapped devices. Better yet, the presentation was made by a woman that used walking crutches. If I had money, that’s someone I would invest in — someone who uses their handicap to a competitive advantage.
• A freshman from the biomedical engineering program (BME, what what!) who has grown his pancake making hobby into a business that will challenge the vendors on campus. He was the youngest person in the room and one of the best dressed. I could go on, but let’s just say I was impressed.
• Finally, those people who simply offered their services were also among my favorites. These experience-offerers truly understood the spirit of the event.

I also presented and met some interesting people, but I don’t want to talk about that just yet. Right now I have an idea and a prayer but nothing more. I’m a firm believer in the fact that ideas are worth nothing and execution is worth everything. However recently, I’ve changed that belief slightly with my most recent idea. Ideas still aren’t worth anything and execution is still worth everything, BUT, timing is golden.

Overall, well done CEO. It’s good to see these types of events at Columbia, and I was impressed with all of my peers. Next task for CEO and other entrepreneurial groups on campus: How do you capture the attention of the rest of the 99.5% of the student body that missed this event (to say nothing of the alumni network in the area)?

Posted in Columbia, Entrepreneur, Events