Fine-Tuning Your Presentation

The average human attention span tops out at around 5 minutes, 7 seconds. For some, the magic number can dip even lower. The fine art of making people listen will continue to become more and more difficult with the integration of social media and various technologies.

In order to create an atmosphere of focused attention, all presenters must do some self-discovery in order to succeed in making an impact.

The most important rule is to be who you are. This may seem cliché, but it can be the most important part of one’s presentation. Style and integrity are incredibly important in gaining both an audience’s attention and respect.

A stodgy presenter can impress his or her audience with technical knowledge and let the facts speak for themselves.

Being prepared is the essence of a successful presentation.

Creating a presentation that reflects this can push your presentation to the next level. Using a strong, decisive voice and creating a well-crafted visual presentation can take some attention away from the presenter him or herself and keep the focus on the intended topic.

A charismatic speaker can create worlds out of dull material. Using movement and flash helps to entertain your audience so they focused when the important details are revealed.

Trying to fake a personality will only lead to nervousness. If your audience has no confidence in your performance, faking a bright exterior only leads to a dull conclusion.

So stand with confidence and swagger; and remember, people are there to listen to what YOU have to say!

Non-Verbal Signs: Make or Break!

The New Venture Championship (NVC) presents young innovators from across the country with the chance to not only win up to $50,000, but to make an impression on business leaders in the Portland area.

Practicing effective non-verbal communication can set a young professional ahead of his or her peers.

Successful business people know the power of first impressions. In fact, psychologists have approximated that someone has less than 17 seconds in an interaction with a stranger before an opinion is formed. And according to the Journal of Business Communication, 93 percent of first impressions are determined by non-verbal communication.

Simply put: Non-verbal signs can make or break one’s first impression. Approaching a networking opportunity with such notoriety, it is important for NVC participants to be in tune to the following signals and to understand the significance of non-verbal communication.

Keep these signals in mind when you have your 17-second shot:

1. Body movement: ==> Sit up straight and stand tall with your shoulders back ==> Hold your head high and keep your chip up ==> Avoid distracting, nervous habits, such as biting nails or playing with your hair.

2. Gestures: ==> The way you wave or shake someone’s hand matters; make sure your handshake is firm and says something about who you are? ==> Be careful about how you animate your speech via gestures; you don’t want to seem too passive or too aggressive. ==> Gestures have different meanings across cultures. Ensure avoiding misinterpretation by respecting and understanding one’s cultural norms.

3. Eye contact ==> Eye contact can maintain or distract from the flow of a conversation. It is important to pay attention to eye contact, in terms of gauging responses. ==> Be an active listener. Eye contact is the best way to show someone that you are engaged.

4. Space ==> Your proximity to someone during a conversation and your stance are also significant. You don’t want to stand too close or too far to someone because it can seem either overbearing or apathetic. ==> You can use physical space to communicate many different nonverbal messages, including intimacy, aggression, dominance, or affection. How will you fill your space?

5. Voice ==> Our tone of voice is almost more significant than words in a first impression. Your tone, pitch, volume, inflection, rhythm and rate are saying something too!

Make sure to keep this in mind when you are networking because you never know where each connection will lead.

Business Plan Competitions: A Start-Up Business’ Best Friend

It’s difficult for a group of graduate students to start a new venture. Large start-up costs. Little exposure. An unfavorable economy.

No need to panic, there is a solution. Welcome to the world of business plan competitions.

Business plan competitions provide graduate students with the essentials for success: professional opinion, exposure, and a hefty sum of money.

The New Venture Championship is among the leading competitions to help spring student ventures toward success. For proof, simply take a look at last year’s winner, KT Tape.

KT Tape, from Brigham Young University, has quickly expanded from an aspiring venture to successful business after being crowned 2009 NVC Champion. Previously not available in retail stores, the product is now found in over 1,100 locations worldwide.

“The caliber of the judges was phenomenal,” Reed Quinn, co-founder of KT Tape said. “They had product experience and the competition proved as a very strong base for us.”

The judges provide just a small sliver of what makes the NVC unique — the prize money is has no restrictions, meaning participants can fund portions of their venture that have funding necessities.

Sound appeasing? Intent to compete and executive summaries are due on February 15, 2010. See www.oregonnvc.com for more information.

KT Tape from Brigham Young Named Winner of 2009 New Venture Championship at Columbia Sportswear Awards Reception

After a day full of venture pitches and penetrating questions from judges, KT Tape from Brigham Young University prevailed as the 2009 New Venture Champion, earning an impressive first prize of $50,000. Team members Michelle Quinn and Reed Quinn can now take this investment money and the lessons learned from the NVC judges to make their venture a reality.

Brigham Young University's KT Tape accepts the $50,000 first place check from University of Oregon's Dean of the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, Dennis Howard

Yet, KT Tape was not the only winner of the event, as every team ended up leaving the event with prize money and the experience to improve their business plans.

“We are very grateful, the judges were phenomenal,” said Michelle Quinn, after learning her team had won. “They provided us with feedback in both the semi-final and final rounds, which was unparalleled in any other business plan competition we have competed in.”

Gyan from Northwestern University, finishing in second place, earned $10,000 to invest in its venture. The third prize of $5,000 was awarded to Integrated Diagnostics from the University of California, Berkeley.

“We’re thrilled with third place,” Octavian Florescu of Integrated Diagnostics said. “The list of competitors was extremely strong but we’re still hungry for the top spot. The competition has given us the edge to get us there.”

Runner-ups from the Intel Capital Final Round were Castor & Pollux of Chulalongkorn University and Gold Plus from Thammasat University, each walking away with $2,500.

The $1,000 Trade Show Award and the Tektronix Elevator Pitch Award were both awarded to

from University of Louisville.

Five teams who did not move forward to the final round of competition came away with $1,500 each as winners of the OEN Lightning Round which included:

Focal Pop from University of Texas at Austin received $1,500
GeneWeave from Cornell University received $1,500
GroundUp Biosolutions from University of Arkansas received $1,500
Interactive Fan from University of Oregon received $1,500
necoPlastics from University of Louisville received $1,500

The remaining teams each received $750 to put towards funding of their ventures.

Over its 18-year span, the NVC continues to show strong signs of expanding the quality of its competing ventures.

University of California, Berkeley's Integrated Diagnostics is rewarded with a $5,000 third place prize from University of Oregon's Dean of the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, Dennis Howard.

“It has been another banner year for the NVC as momentum continues to build for this event,” said Dick Sloan, Undergraduate Coordinator of Innovation/Entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon. “We had a record number of teams applying, which elevated the quality of venture teams competing.”

Thanks for staying tuned to New Venture Championship on the NVC Blog. Make sure to check back often, as the blog and NVC Twitter account will remain active throughout the year.

Intel Capital Final Rounds Continue with Integrated Diagnostics from Berkeley

After a brief lunch break for the judges, the Intel Capital Final Round Presentations have resumed at the New Venture Championship. The first team to present its venture after the break was Integrated Diagnostics, from the University of California, Berkeley.

Led by Octavian Florescu, the team introduced HemaScreen, an affordable and efficient way to diagnose HIV. Unlike other HIV detection tests, HemaScreen needs just 10 to 20 minutes to produce results.

Not too shabby considering many HIV tests require an additional appointment just to learn the results of a test. Because the team’s product produces results so quickly, the extra appointment isn’t needed, saving healthcare providers around $70.

Me, Jeremy Liebman, talking with the Octavian Florescu after his presentation.

Integrated Diagnostics hopes to market its product in a clinical trial within two years. If HemaScreen is unable to launch in the United States within two years, the team will look to develop business for its product throughout Europe, Australia, and Japan.

Florescu, along with team members Karl Skucha and Tayson Siegel, benefited from the questions and comments the NVC finalist judges had to offer.

“The judges pushed us from a business perspective.” Florescu said. “They asked us acute and precise questions outside of our areas of expertise.”

While the team has mainly engineering-minded members to construct HemaScreen, the team’s lack of business experience did not hinder their poise. I considered the strongest part of their pitch the Question and Answer portion.

HemaScreen will find out its fate tonight at the Columbia Sportswear Awards Reception. Check back then to find out which team is named the champion of the New Venture Championship.

Castor & Pollux Highlight Intel Capital Final Round Presentations

The Intel Capital Final Round Presentations have begun at the New Venture Championship. I just sat in on the Castor & Pollux Team’s final pitch to the five finalist judges.

The team, from Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University, presented their product, LeptoSpot, to the judges.

And I think they performed well.

LeptoSpot proposes an early diagnosis of leptospirosis, a potentially lethal disease that infects around 10 million people annually. The team says that LeptoSpot provides its users with results within 20 minutes, much faster than other leading brands that can take up to four hours to provide a diagnosis.

The venture’s target market would reach 165 million people throughout Southeast Asia. In these relatively poor countries, citizens would have access to LeptoSpot at an affordable price in either 10 or 25 test packages.

I thought that the portion of their presentation that was most interesting during the Castor & Pollux presentation, was the Question and Answer segment. The five finalists judges that include elite business experts Julie Dexter Berg, Kirby Dyess, Georges C. St. Laurent, Jr., Luis Muchuca and Greg Quesnel, asked tough questions regarding certification and proper testing opportunities for the product.

Me, Jeremy Liebman, talking with Castor & Pollux after the team's final pitch.

Despite a few rough patches, members of Castor & Pollux, Tanaphat, Patcharin Pratheeptham, Sorradithep Supachanya and Thanan Suthipongmitri, were enthusiastic about their experience at the New Venture Championship.

“The NVC has been a great experience,” team member Tanaphat Laohavisit said. “We have received phenomenal feedback from the judges about ways to improve our pitch.”

Laohavisit and the rest of his Castor & Pollux team will find out tonight if their venture will be deemed ready for the $50,000 investment as the NVC concludes this evening. Check back later to the NVC Blog and Twitter page to learn which team is named the winner.

Finalists of the New Venture Championship Announced

Applause at the Blue Star Gas Announcement of Finalists for the five finalists announced.

The New Venture Championship concluded after a long day of competition during the Semifinal Round. All twenty teams pitched their business plans to panels of judges in hope to advance to the Final Round and the chance to win the $50,000 first place prize.

After their presentation, each team met with judges to receive feedback and gain insight from the elite business professionals who serve as judges for the competition.

We heard at the Blue Star Gas Announcement of Finalists, that the following teams advanced:

Integrated Diagnostics from the University of California Berkeley
Teammates Octavian Florescu, Tanner Nevill, Tayson Siegel, Karl Skucha, and Kevan Wang pitched their idea for an easy and accurate HIV detection test.

Gold Plus from the Thammasat University
Teammates Parujee Chantaharn, Yanin Kasemkosolsri, Nattaya Khuntivongvarn, and Thanawat Malabuppha pitched their idea that reduces the density of gold products to address the challenge of increasing gold prices and decreasing pricing pressures.

Castor & Pollux from Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
Teammates Tanaphat Laohavisit, Patacharin Pratheeptham, Sorradithep Supachanya and Thanan Suthipongmitri pitched their idea for a diagnostic kit that allows for early and simple testing of leptospirosis, a tropical bacterial disease.

Gyan from Kellog School of Management of Northwestern University
Teammates Esther Choy, Supina Mapon, Pavan Singh, Ramya Singh, and Tiffany Urrechaga pitched their idea for an educational training program for the rural poor in India through an English franchise starter kit.

KT Tape TM from Brigham Young University
Teammates Michelle Quinn and Reed Quinn presented their plan to bring kinesiology tape to the consumer market.

Tayson Siegel of the Integrated Diagnostics Team said, “We’re a little bit surprised, but really happy. The competition is really strong and we’re happy we made it this far.”

His teammate, Karl Skucha added, “We’re glad we could pull it together after yesterday’s feedback.”

Congratulations to the five finalist teams. Tomorrow the Final Round begins where teams will once again have 15 minutes to present and 20 minutes for a Question & Answer session from judges.

Check back tomorrow for updates on the Final Round of NVC. You can also check updates on Twitter.

NVC Semifinals Continue With the ReLive Venture Team

Andrew Charnik and Jeff Richman of the ReLive Team pitch their plans during the Semifinal Round of NVC

University of Michigan’s two-man ReLive team pitched their business plan for creating a digital music archive of live music performances. Beginning with the idea that the “live music aficionado” wants and needs live music at the moment they want it, ReLive says there exists a growing market for digital recordings of live music. ReLive looks to partner with small music venues and emerging artists to keep up with the dynamics of the changing music industry.

The ReLive partners, Andrew Charnik and Jeff Richman, believe that their plan is an “investment in the future of music.” ReLive provides emerging artists and small music venues a new way to capitalize on their performances, allowing them to combat the decrease in profit margins.

ReLive would record the live performance and add the songs to its online music archive making the songs available for purchase. Live music fans could pick and choose songs from the concert for $0.99 a download.

After an interesting pitch, the venture team had to handle some difficult questions in the Question & Answer portion of their semifinal round. The judges had questions about the real market potential, technical costs, and consumer response. Judge Tim Berry, president and founder of Palo Alto Software, had some questions about their financial numbers and percentages of people willing to purchase songs.

When asked about how they felt about their Q&A session, ReLive appreciated the judges perspectives on their plan, “The panel of judges was great, their questions were very insightful – which usually means difficult questions- but it helps us develop our plan.”

Read more about ReLive in an article from The Michigan Daily.

NVC Semifinal Round continues with The Interactive Fan Team from University of Oregon

The semifinals are underway! In front of a packed conference room at the Embassy Suites in Portland, University of Oregon’s Interactive Fan Team presented their 15-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute Question & Answer session.

The presentation began with, “Lisa is PUMPED!”

The team used a fictional person, Lisa, to help the judges fully understand its concept. Lisa, a Scion marketing executive, is pumped because of a great opportunity for her to connect with fans at sporting events. The Interactive Fan enables sponsors to directly connect with people attending sporting events via their mobile phones.

The UO team developed a sponsored interactive game that allows fans in attendance to sporting events compete by answering trivia questions and participating in a fantasy game.  According to the team, The Interactive Fan, is a win for both the sponsors and the fans because the game creates a more interactive sports experience for the fans and allows sponsor to compile valuable consumer information.

The UO team, comprised of Tom Czarnowski, Dan Pivirotto, Jim Sever, Jeff Sharma, and Jesse Thomas, shared the presenting duties each focusing on different areas of expertise. They discussed the product, the marketing potential, and the numbers.

The Interactive Fan appears to have amazing potential calculating a 33X return on investment. The team is putting up $100,000 of their own money and believes they will be able to raise another $200,000 from family and friends. The team has put in extra hours preparing to test The Interactive Fan at the PAC 10 Track & Field Championships in May at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

NVC judges question team members of The Interactive Fan team to learn more about the venture.

The team spent 15 minutes pitching their venture, leaving 20 minutes for question from the judges, Erik Benson, Bob DeKoning, Jeff Stewart, Jonathan Widney and Jim Young. I thought the team did well answering the questions and came back with strong well-articulated answers.

Winner of the Elevator Pitch Announced

In just sixty seconds, each NVC venture team had the chance to captivate the attention of five judges.

That’s right, the NVC Elevator Pitch Competition just ended at the NVC. One team member from each team had the chance to explain the team’s venture and why investors should choose their team.

The pitch competition is based off the idea that if a venture capitalist were to meet an investor in an elevator, would he or she be able to use that one minute of face-time to secure an investment.

Apparently, the necoPlastics team from University of Louisville has the ability to do just that. The team’s elevator pitch included both the team’s business plan and why investors should be interested in necoPlastics. The team that includes, Whitney Austin, Stevel Flaherty, Nick Jacoby, Charles Price and Jason Wade, won $1,000 for winning this round of competition.

PassPro-tech, the runnerup from the University of Texas at Dallas, also excelled in the elevator pitch portion of the event with the team’s explanation of its one-of-a-kind technology that allows users an easy and safe way to access networks. Stephen Dunlap and Ben Morrow make up the PassPro-tech team.

Check back to the NVC Blog to follow the competition’s events as they happen. You can also follow the announcements on Twitter.