There are lots of activities that can be accomplished in five minutes. Friends will meet each other in five minutes. There are only five minutes left to make it to class. The snooze button will go off again in about five minutes. Plenty can be done in five minutes.

Even pitching a new business can take five minutes.

Starting a business takes time, research, planning, and of course, money. Find some investors, and then the business idea can be shared in a detailed presentation that will most likely last longer than five minutes. But for contestants in Student Rocket Pitch contest, this is all the time they will have. 

The Student Rocket Pitch contest is an annual event that began in 2009. The event is run by UNCW’s Entrepreneurship Center and is being promoted by Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), a business marketing fraternity on campus.

 “UNCW students incredibly innovative, creative and entrepreneurial,” said Dr. Jonathan Rowe, professor and director of the Entrepreneurship Center. “I wanted to create an event for students to compete in and showcase these talents and innovative ideas.”

“The event was based on something the Center created in 2009 called the ‘Rocket Pitch’ where established startup companies pitch their actual businesses in front of equity investors who then consider whether or not to invest. In many ways the Student Rocket Pitch is a way for the Entrepreneurship Center to invest in student business ideas with the goal that this may help lead to companies being launched by UNCW students, and hopefully lead to success over time,” said Rowe.

After presenting to professors and making it past the preliminary rounds, ten finalists will be pitching their ideas to a panel of six judges that include real entrepreneurs, investors and the SGA student body president. The contest is open to both business and non-business majors. Once the five minute mark has been reached, the contestant must stop their presentation.

“The most important rule is that you have 5-minutes to deliver your rocket pitch presentation and when the clock hits five minutes you will get cut off no matter what,” said Rowe.

The judges make the final decision on who the overall winner is, but the audience can also vote for their favorite business pitch.

“The student audience will vote via text message,” said Krista Little, UNCW student and member of PSE.

Little has been working on advertising for the event. “For the Student Rocket Pitch, PSE is playing a key role in promotions for the event. Getting the word out via advertisements, social media outlets, and word of mouth are our go to promotions ideas for the event. It’s such an awesome event that it really sales itself,” said Little.

The winner of the Student Rocket Pitch will receive 800 dollars to either put towards their business, or use however they desire. The second prize is 250 dollars, and third prize is 100 dollars.

Last year’s contest had 300 hundred students in attendance. Not many people giving their business pitch have an audience of that size. However, Rowe said that this adds to the experience. 

“The energy and excitement in the room was amazing, and for me personally it was one of my proudest moments at UNCW to be a part of it,” said Rowe.

“Enthusiasm and passion win out every time,” said Little.

In America, everything is done quickly. And now business is too.

The Student Rocket Pitch will be held Nov. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Cameron Hall Auditorium.