Bauer Business Focus: Alan Lish

Published on October 23, 2012

On Bauer Business Focus — A conversation on promoting entrepreneurship across the University of Houston campus with Andrew Schneider, business reporter for KUHF 88.7 FM.

Got a business idea you’ve wanted to pitch to potential investors? The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business would love to hear it. CougarPitch, an elevator-pitch competition, is looking for entrepreneurial ideas across the University of Houston. Competitors in various categories (entrepreneurship students, other students, faculty/staff) will pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors and entrepreneurs.

Alan Lish, clinical assistant professor for the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the C. T. Bauer College of Business, stopped by Bauer Business Focus recently to discuss how the Wolff Center is fostering entrepreneurship across campus through CougarPitch.

“An elevator pitch is essentially what you really want to convey,” Lish said. “You can conceivably have different elevator pitches for different targets to who you’re talking to. You could have one for an employee, a supplier or a partner; basically you’re trying to get someone interested in your idea and demonstrate it has value and merit and you want them to listen to it.”

As the deadline for CougarPitch submissions draws to a close on Oct. 31, Lish offers a few pointers to make a successful pitch.

“In most cases, you only have 30 seconds to two minutes to talk to anybody about your business and in that time, you have to convey why that product is different, why your market is bigger and why someone should pay attention to you.”