Season 5 introduces the Wild Card and a group of new entrepreneurs.
October 16, 2019 3 min read
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch invites ambitious entrepreneurs to step into the Entrepreneur Elevator, then gives them just 60 seconds to pique the interest of a group of judges. It’s a high-pressure, fast-paced environment in which startup founders need to race against the clock while maintaining their composure to make a clear, deliberate pitch that covers at least three essential components:
- Defining the company
- Making the request
- Specifying what the investment money will be used for
The investors watch the pitch via a video livestream while the elevator ascends to the boardroom floor. Once the 60 seconds are up, the judges vote on whether to open the doors or send the founder back down and pass on investing.
Related: Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 4 Episode 12: ‘I’m a Failed Entrepreneur’
The fifth season of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch offers a dynamic change in the show’s format. Before, our four judges once needed unanimous agreement to make an offer to the pitching entrepreneurs — including three out of four “yes” votes just to open the elevator doors. Now, it only takes one.
That’s one investor to open the doors and one judge to make an offer. The panel of four can choose whether they want to collaborate or compete against one another, and the first pitch of Season 5 gives them a chance to do just that.
When the four judges are split after the 60-second pitch, investors Peter Goldberg and Kim Green-Kerr don’t bother trying to convince the other two, Kim Perell and David Meltzer, to join in.
Instead, they open up the floor to a beauty business projecting “conservatively” to make $2.5 million in 2020, despite making only $100,000 over the past calendar year. Those numbers force one of the judges who initially voted to open the elevator doors to drop out. However, not only does the remaining judge decide to make an offer, but the other two decide to jump in on the fun, using a new tool introduced this season called the Wild Card. This allows each investor, once per episode, to make an offer — despite voting “no” on opening the doors.
The new investors’ involvement begs the question: Will they work together to make an offer or battle it out against one another?
Play the video to find out what happens and watch the rest of the pitches.
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, in partnership with Sports 1 Marketing, streams Wednesdays on Entrepreneur.com. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.
