Lunar Ventures 2008 part II

“How I Spent My Weekend” continued…

After some time for judges and spectators to go around to each group, ask questions, and get some first impressions, each group had two minutes to present their “elevator pitch”. Complete with stopwatch, each group had to get up in front of the audience and describe their company as if they had trapped a venture capitalist in an elevator for a quick ride and they had to capture his interest before the doors opened.

There were two strategies in evidence: talk fast and plan ahead. Ironically, those whose strategy was to talk fast usually didn’t finish in time. As a hopeful entrepreneur myself, these elevator pitches were very interesting to hear. “What have you done for the last several years? Can you describe it in 2 minutes?” Neither could I. In the end, the judges were deadlocked and GeoHopr and IntAct both walked away with a $500 prize.

I missed the first round of the full competition the next morning because I had to pick my Honda Rebel 250 up from service. The first round had just ended when I finally got to the school and the teams were eating lunch. After lunch, Dr. Gary Cadenhead, the director of the competition, came out to address the teams together. Cadenhead is a veteran of the Moot Corp competition from the University of Texas at Austin for 13 years. He began by giving them some heartfelt advice.

Normally, these speeches are weak platitudes about how everyone’s a winner. Cadenhead’s advice was more useful. Recognize that judges are humans; take their criticism, but temper it with your own judgement; press on. With these words, he announced iShoe and Pyramid Sciences as the two finalists.

iShoe’s technology detects balance disorders before a bad fall can result in fractured hips or possible death. This could cut costs for elderly health care, a growing portion of the population.

The other finalist, Pyramid Sciences, has plans and experience developing advanced propulsions systems. Their cutting-edge designs for satellite propulsion systems could allow satellites to function in lower orbits thereby giving better resolution images and transmission quality.

The rules changed for the final round, which commenced at 6 p.m. The teams had a chance to present to a new set of judges, this time without interruptions. Just listening to the questions was an incredible experience. I’d be grateful for the opportunity to fail in this competition rather than miss it outright.

At a dinner hosted after the presentations, iShoe was announced as the final winner. The finalists were invited to meet again with the judges, where their plans were critiqued again. The judges were successful members of the local business community, from intellectual property attorneys, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of the technical questions and considerations given to Pyramid Sciences; its not many people that would know to ask a question like “will the system fit into the payload bay of a normal launch system?” Even the space community doesn’t know all of the risks in these ventures, but there are some industry-specific concerns that aren’t always obvious.

Check back soon for part III of Jonathan’s essay!