Webinar - The Art of the Pitch from past Business Plan Competition Winners

The Rutgers Business School Virtual Lunch & Learn Series presented recent winners of Rutgers Business School’s (RBS) Annual Business Plan Competition to share their secrets to starting a successful business.

The 2020-21 competition was canceled due to the pandemic, so no winners were announced during its traditional time in March. However, Rutgers Business School brought back past winners to hear about how their ventures had grown after receiving the prize money to invest in their businesses.

They also revisited their winning pitches and provided tips on what makes a successful pitch.

FEATURING

• Anton Kogan, Rutgers MBA – founder of Emma’s Premium Foods, 1st Place: 2020 & 2017
• Juan Salinas, Rutgers MBA – founder of P-nuff Crunch, 1st Place: 2018
• Jen Du, Rutgers MBA – founder of Bibi Beverages. 3rd Place: 2018
• Paula M. Zwiren, JD, Rutgers MBA, CTP – founder of Zwiren Title Agency, Inc., 2nd Place: 2014

MODERATOR & INTRODUCTION

Doug Brownstone, assistant professor of professional practice with the Management & Global Business Department, Brownstone oversees the Rutgers Business School Business Plan Competition and brings glimpses of Corporate America into his classrooms [see Faculty Spotlight].

Daniel J. Stoll, executive director of communications and marketing at Rutgers Business School, introduced the story behind "The Art of the Pitch."

The Business Plan Competition was started 20 years ago thanks to the vision and generosity of Dick Romano, a member of the Rutgers Business School’s Board of Advisors and through the Sales Executive Club of Northern New Jersey Foundation, the sponsor of the Competition. It has become one of the signature annual events at the business school on the Rutgers University – Newark campus. Through the $45,000 in prize money, the competition encourages student entrepreneurs and supports the growth of jobs in New Jersey.

As the main judge of the competition, Romano, who spent 39 years at AT&T, always looks for winning businesses that have a chance to be successful in a short amount of time. This mindset has helped Rutgers Business School become recognized for its excellence in entrepreneurship having been ranked the No. 1 Public MBA for Entrepreneurship on the East Coast by Poets & Quants and Inc. Magazine in 2020.

The competition will return starting this September and will be overseen by our moderator today, Doug Brownstone.

Originally aired March 24, 2021.

This webinar is part of Rutgers Business School’s Virtual Lunch & Learn Series, which covers the hottest trends and business topics to stay relevant. Free, monthly, live online webinars, including Q&A with faculty and thought leaders during lunch. Explore past Virtual Lunch & Learn webinars.

The Virtual Lunch & Learn Series is powered by Rutgers Business School Executive Education. If you have any questions, you may contact our Executive Education team directly at 1-848-445-2020. See upcoming webinars.