3-minutes Elevator Pitch Debate

September 23, 2011

In Jim Williams’ Entrepreneurship classes, students were divided in 8 different groups and were required to make a 3-minute elevator pitch. The groups were given 4 topics where one group was in favor of the article and the other had to defend against the article in a debate format. The topics and discussions were:

1st Topic was “World Economy has 50% chance of falling into slump”. According to the students, there was not a correct answer for this assumption, the answers could have been: Yes, No, and Maybe. The students’ proposal was that people learn from difficult situations. The media makes consumers fearful as they report about the collapse of the economy but at the same time attempt to promote responsibility. The students stated that even though the slowdown in the economy adversely affects entrepreneurs, there will always be a niche market, the opportunities are there, and people just have to go look for them.

The second topic was “Consumers Fears Hobble Economy”. The groups agreed on the idea that the population is concerned about the slowdown of the economy, where even wealthy individuals are consuming less. Also, corporations are being affected, since their profit projections are being lowered. But again, there was also a good side of the story. The group said that the consumers are getting more interested about investment ideas, and the media overreacts about the bad economy news. Also, even though consumers are spending less than before, they are still spending, looking for substitutable goods. Retail spending is still up and interest rates are very low at the moment enticing consumers to buy.

The third current event debated was “Trichet says U.S Economy Diversity is Similar to Euro Areas”. The students said that the economies should pursue structural reforms to make them to be more competitive and efficient as Germany did in the 1990s. In both the U.S and the E.U there is a lack of control with so much government difference; however, the E.U does not have a political union thus causing its demise. The states are moving in order to try to stabilize economy, while the different countries of the European Union are more interested in their separate wellbeing. The United States though allows for some state governmental differentiation, but has the power to enforce federal law if the situation gets out of control. For example, one of the students pointed the legalization of marijuana in California as a solution to generate revenue, while most of the other U.S States are completely against that policy.

The last topic was the “Speech Hints at Options for Fed” which criticized Ben Bernanke for not taking responsibility for the failing economy. It was hard for the students to go for the pro side on this topic since most of them agreed that something has to be done by the Fed in order for the economy to grow. One of the ideas the students came up with though as a solution is tax reforms, but those that impose heavier taxes on the rich or poor. They suggested reforms such as tax on consumption which means that all individuals will pay taxes at the register based on what they buy. This solution will put an end to the debate of non US citizens paying taxes and will save $470 billion a year in tax compliance costs. All of the students agreed that this would be an optimal route, but it might shock consumers at first at the register causing an already volatile retail market to plummet.

In the end, this debate not only taught the students how to give a 3 minute elevator pitch, but also motivated them to research what is happening in the World today, and how it affects entrepreneurs. Overall, the students did an excellent job debating both sides showing how difficult it is to agree on such complex issues just as the government does today.