Nearly 50 Pitt students of all levels, who spent the past eight weeks putting their business ideas through a rigorous development process overseen by an experienced mentor, pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from the Pittsburgh startup community at the William Pitt Union.
Phil Brooks, an entrepreneur and business consultant with 30-plus years of experience across multiple sectors — from manufacturing, mining, and information technology, to life sciences and entertainment — has joined the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute as a full time executive in residence.
A recent First Gear team began on a mission to satisfy the need of a very passionate clinician long before they applied to participate in this program offered by the Innovation Institute. In response to a recent session the team estimated the size of their product’s pie at $25,000 a year. Some venture capital firms won’t consider an investment in a company unless the market is at least $1 billion a year.
The importance of interacting with your customers should never be underestimated. It is from these discussions that you learn about your customers and shape the future of your product or innovation. This is one of the most valuable lessons we provide in the Pitt Ventures First Gear program. You must "get out of the building."
It’s not enough to have a good idea. In order to be successful, a product needs a value proposition to clearly answer the question “Why would someone be willing to purchase this product?” A value proposition is a clear statement that explains your product’s relevancy, quantified value, and unique differentiation. Communicating this persuasively is difficult though.