Academics: Centennial Center for Leadership

ABOUT THE PITCH

The Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a driver of innovation. Entrepreneurs add value to ideas that transform communities, improve systems, and create products or services that change the way we interact with our world and with each other. Their impact can be intellectual, cultural, social or financial. They come from a wide variety of professional sectors and a range of academic disciplines.

The Idea

The Pitch is an entrepreneurial contest that will help one student bring his or her big idea to life. Students interested in participating in The Pitch will be supported at every stage of the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation to implementation. The winner will receive up to $10,000 toward transforming their idea into reality.

The Challenge

Submit a proposal, following the guidelines presented on the Application. If selected as a semi-finalist, you will be paired with a mentor with entrepreneurial experience to help strengthen your proposal. After a round of revision, the semi-finalists will be narrowed to five finalists who will participate in The Pitch for a chance to win up to$10,000.

Judges’ Testimonials

"Entrepreneurs are at the core of bringing ideas to life and the Centennial Center has done a marvelous job in providing an opportunity, through the annual entrepreneurial proposal competition, for aspiring entrepreneurs at HWS to develop and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. I have been proud to serve as a judge for this competition and have been impressed with the innovative ideas presented by talented HWS students."
- Dean Mark Zupan, Simon School of Business, University of Rochester, The Pitch Judge 2011

"I applaud Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and, particularly, the Centennial Center for Leadership, for creating this case competition. The need for creative entrepreneurship spans the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, and your student competitors clearly answered the call. I was deeply impressed by their ability to frame a problem, come up with a fresh, new solution, and then articulate their goals. These are the marks of the broadly educated! Congratulations on your inaugural event."
- Hollis S. Budd, Executive Director, Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation, The Pitch Judge 2011

"Several years ago, for the William Smith Centennial, I contributed to the fundraising effort of the Centennial Center. I was happy to do so but I am so pleased I could become involved on a personal level with leadership building on the college campus. Working as a mentor, I was able to help a student's idealistic dreams morph into a realistic business venture. Sara was open to advice, learning and molding her dreams so that they could become a reality. Sara worked incredibly hard on this project with several revisions but was able to absorb all the input from my advice, professor's information, and advisor's guidance. What a fabulous way to learn in college!"
- Dr. Deborah Pilla '76, The Pitch Mentor 2011

Finalists' Testimonials

"The support from the Centennial Center for Leadership has been invaluable. The Pitch gives HWS students a unique platform to develop their ideas and transform it to a reality that would not be possible without the resources and mentorship provided by the CCL. As a liberal arts institution, student entrepreneurs are a reflection of the multidisciplinary education provided by HWS and I believe the Pitch contest will ultimately become representative of the vast educational opportunities available on campus."
- Matthew Mead '13, The Pitch 2013 finalist