For every business idea that launches into the stratosphere, there’s a spectacular presentation, a pitch that drives home the entrepreneur’s vision—and galvanizes potential investors.
This autumn, Paste by WeTransfer held a business ideas contest. We challenged the Forbes audience to use Paste, an award-winning tool for turning ideas into beautiful slides, to present their entrepreneurial passion projects—business ideas that would help make a difference and solve problems in the world today.
Each winner would receive $10,000 and mentoring from Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees.
The results are in and our judging panel has selected our triumphant winners. You can meet them below.
Shazzy Angulo has combined her computer science background with her passion for animation to land jobs at several top studios. She’s inspired to help young girls look at STEAM subjects in a fun and colorful way.
Mitzy Makes It is a STEAM-focused brand aimed at inspiring little girls to make and create in fun new ways through a series of children's books and short-form digital videos. Its goal is to eliminate the stigma around STEAM and inspire a new generation of builders, creators and makers. Empowering girls to pursue futures in STEAM will diversify tech leadership and boost the industry’s ability to solve problems.
Shaffiou Assoumanou is a senior at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, studying economics with a minor in political science. Shaffiou will graduate this fall and join a major financial services company as an associate in the summer of 2021.
T-WORK is an online platform that enables people to do temporary paid and/or unpaid work both remotely and in person based on interest and potential, so that they can build and hone skills. Jobs can range in duration from 30 minutes to a month based on company or individual needs. In the face of an employment or financial crisis, T-WORK can help keep as many people as possible temporarily employed, saving them from financial hardship.
Anurag Bolneni is a BBA graduate of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, a board member of Blueprints for Pangaea, a medical supply chain nonprofit, and a former intern for the Government of India’s flagship national healthcare program.
MedVision.ai offers a novel approach to hospital inventory management, using IoT sensors to track supplies in real time. It envisions a lean hospital supply chain that automates manual inventorying, provides real-time predictive and prescriptive supply-level analytics, and creates value across the entire hospital supply chain. The MedVision.ai teams plans to build a user base and iterate technology with small specialty clinics before approaching hospitals with an established product suite and references.
Nikita Gupta is co-founder and CTO of Symba, an internship management platform that is democratizing access to the workforce through remote internships. Symba’s platform connects companies with talented remote interns from around the world and curates meaningful remote internship experiences. Gupta and her co-founder, Ahva Sadeghi, recently closed their first financing round. They learned a lot during the process about how to pitch their mission.
“Start with a personal anecdote—paint a picture for your audience,” offers the 2020 30 Under 30 honoree and Cornell University graduate in computer science and engineering. “If you tell a real story about yourself, it makes the pitch more relatable. Be natural and don’t force anything.
“Second,” Gupta says, “your audience needs to know you’re the right person to make this idea real. Stress right away that you have the appropriate skill sets and the relevant experience for the job.
“Third, if investors don’t understand the problem your idea is intended to solve, your idea isn’t going to make any sense to them. Make it as clear as possible how your business is going to provide value in the world.”
Agent Phil Quist, a 2018 Under 30 honoree, hasn’t only given his share of presentations. At Creative Artists Agency, where he represents top musical talent, he’s been on the receiving end of more of them than he can count.
What works when you’re standing in front of a conference room full of people with the power to make your project come to life?
“A pitch should tell a story,” says Quist, who got hooked on the music business when he promoted Dallas-area concerts as a student at Southern Methodist University. “And like every good story, it should have a beginning, a middle and an end.
“Be sure, too, to make clear what’s unique about your product/business. You’d be surprised to learn how many pitches I’ve been through that don’t include that key point.
“Finally,” Quist says, “explain your revenue model and growth plan. People want to hear about your finances. At the end of the day, your project has to be a sustainable proposition.”
Sarah Ahmed, a 2018 Under 30 list member, was chief creative officer at the eco-conscious premium denim brand DL1961 before founding Warp + Weft, a jeans brand that stresses sustainable manufacturing and body-type inclusivity. It’s perhaps her passion for making a difference that informs her advice about giving an effective pitch.
“Start your pitch with an easy-to-digest synthesis of your company that ties into a macro trend or problem,” says Ahmed.
“Setting up context for your pitch not only makes it impactful, but subconsciously defines the market need for your product or service,” adds the Parsons School of Design grad.
