The University of Connecticut’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation will be hosting a Pitch Night as part of their Get Seeded program at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22. Students with an idea for a product can sign up to pitch their idea, and have a chance to earn $1000 in seed funding to put towards their product.
Students can apply to pitch their ideas on the Get Seeded website. Any level of idea is welcome, though they are encouraged to have both an idea and a business plan, as well as supporting data for both of these. If they are selected, they will give a five-minute “Shark Tank style” pitch on their business idea, and then will have three minutes to answer any questions asked about their product.
Pitches will be held virtually, and are open for anybody to watch. After the pitches conclude, the audience will get to vote on which product they thought was the best, and the top three products will get a prize of either $1000, $750 or $500 to put towards their business idea, respectively. Students are encouraged to come and watch the pitches so that they can vote on whichever product they think should win.
Get Seeded hosts three Pitch Nights per semester. After Feb. 22, the next and final Pitch Night of the semester will be hosted on March 20.
After the final Pitch Night, the top five teams across all six Pitch Nights will be given the opportunity to participate in a Demo Day, where teams will get to further pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges, who will then grant the top three teams a further $5000, $2500 or $1000, respectively.
[The CCEI is] continually impressed by the extensive ideas we see students apply to pitch with. Students generate products anywhere from food to clothing, and medical devices to educational games. The sky really is the limit with these ideas.
Michaela Hartl
A virtual interview was conducted with the CCEI’s Engagement and Outreach Coordinator Michaela Hartl about the event.
“[Get Seeded’s] goal is to give students a platform to showcase their innovation and have the opportunity to win seed funding to further their idea. We pride ourselves on creating programs and atmospheres where students feel inspired, encouraged, and supported to take their ideas to the next level,” Hartl said.
Initially launched in 2018, Get Seeded has seen a large variety of ideas and products. Past pitches have included Reach Bar, a protein bar that is made of freeze-dried vegetables, and The Kona Brand, a clothing company that makes Hawaiian-themed winter apparel.
“[The CCEI is] continually impressed by the extensive ideas we see students apply to pitch with. Students generate products anywhere from food to clothing, and medical devices to educational games. The sky really is the limit with these ideas,” Hartl said.
For more information on Get Seeded, visit their website or contact Michaela Hartl at michaela.hartl@uconn.edu.