Bay Path’s annual Elevator Pitch Competition

03.30.2010

With her entrepreneurial concept for a new cell phone application that can provide users with live-streaming video, Bay Path College junior Alexandra Putnam took home first place during Bay Path’s annual Elevator Pitch Competition. The audience also voted her cell phone application as their favorite idea. Putnam, who is majoring in marketing, will show her entrepreneurial spirit as she prepares for the Elevator Pitch Competition at the annual banquet sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation's Entrepreneurship Initiative. She will participate in the live competition, which will be held on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA.

“This is truly a great experience for me, and I’ve learned so much,” said Putnam. “The entire Bay Path community is extremely supportive of my entrepreneurial spirit, especially my professors in the business department Drs. Lauren Way and Sandi Coyne and even Dr. Ping Zhao in the science and mathematics department. Dr. Zhao has helped me with research and has opened windows to a new understanding of the technological aspects of my product. It’s great that professors in other departments are available and willing to help each and every student at Bay Path to make their ideas a reality.”

Putnam will join students from 11 other participating Western Massachusetts colleges, who are selected to compete in the annual competition. She will have 90 seconds to impress the judges with her pitch for a new business or product. During the upcoming Elevator Pitch Competition, student presentations will be judged on the feasibility of the idea as well as quality of the pitch. Judges are area investment bankers who are accustomed to making decisions regarding financing new business ventures and choose the winners based solely on the caliber of the pitch.