MBA alum and former Dingman Scholar Matt Fleischer put passion into promise to create a successful beer company Zoey Rawlins, founder of Shop DC and former Dingman Scholar, launched her business by following trends in the marketplace Run by students, The Smith Store offers promotional branded apparel, accessories and gifts The Dingman Center supports entrepreneurs throughout the Washington D.C. Metro Area and beyond The Dingman Center is located at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland

Preparing Your Pitch

Dress Rehearsal for Your Idea

Overview  ♦  How to Pitch  ♦  Preparing a Pitch  ♦  Past Winners  ♦  FAQ

Your pitch should be a five- to eight-minute presentation providing an overview of a business idea. It is meant to help you, as an entrepreneur, to practice and hone your ability to verbalize and sell the idea. The pitch should be viewed as something similar to an early stage investor pitch given to:

  • Friends and Family
  • Angel Investors
  • Venture Capital Firms

Topics to include in your pitch are:

  1. What is the problem you are trying to solve?
  2. Customer Profile—who? unmet needs
  3. Market Potential—size, segments, growth
  4. Product—value proposition, how does it work?
  5. Competitors—any existing?
  6. Profit Margins—unit sales less unit costs
  7. Distribution strategy—how will you sell?
  8. Management team—who? what backgrounds and experiences do they bring?
  9. Startup Costs—be specific, use of $500 if presenting at a working session and use of $2,500 if presenting at the Pitch Dingman Competition
  $2,500 Richer in Just 5 Minutes!

Enter your business idea in the next Pitch Dingman contest, and you might just win $2,500 towards your business dream! Find out more.