Society for Advancement of Management
Business Pitch Competition Rules
The Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) is excited to provide the opportunity for students to showcase their business development knowledge and skills in our Business Pitch Competition. This event is sponsored by Business Walrus.
The Business Pitch Competition
Has three divisions – Open, Undergraduate, and Associate
Is open to all Collegiate Business & Management Students
Provides the opportunity for students to participate in global competition
Provides feedback to the competing teams
Provides certificates of participation to all team members
This event, sponsors by Business Walrus, focuses on a student’s ability to deliver a pitch that attempts to persuade an investor to back a new product or service. Competitors will select a series of “Ask” and “Must Have” cards to form the basis of their presentation. Competitors will then have 15 minutes to prepare a 2 to 5-minute pitch. This is an individual event.
Dress Code: Business Attire
Example “Ask” (yellow) and “Must Have” (purple) cards:
BUSINESS PITCH COMPETITION RULES
Violating any of the following rules will disqualify the team.
- Each college or university is welcome to submit as many teams as they would like for the business pitch. Teams consist of one (1) student.
Associate Division – Students enrolled in a community college or in their freshman or sophomore years as of December 2023.
Undergraduate Division – Any student who has not yet graduated with a bachelor’s degree, including freshman and sophomores as of December 2023.
Open Division – Any currently enrolled college student, including those in Master’s and Doctoral degree programs.
2. Each team member must register for the entire conference and pay the fees outlined in the conference material.
Because we recognize that emergencies arise, substitution will be permitted if the SAM Headquarters and Business Pitch Competition Director are notified as soon as the substitution is made and the substitute meets all other eligibility requirements.
3. Student competitors may only participate on one (1) Business Pitch team and are prohibited from participating or assisting in the research, preparation, development or practice of another team’s Business Pitch.
4. Business Pitch Sessions will consist of a pitch session lasting between two (2) and five (5) minutes.
5. Each team may select the media it feels will most effectively deliver its message.
6. Presentations will be closed to the public. Each team may, at their discretion, have two designated “listeners” attend their presentation. The designated listeners will not be permitted to ask questions, make comments, or provide direction of any kind to the team. Violations will result in disqualification of the team. Teams may audio or videotape their presentation so long as doing so does not interfere with SAM’s videotaping the competition.
7. By agreeing to participate in the Business Pitch Competition, each team is also agreeing to have its presentation videotaped. No confidentiality is guaranteed in any way. Upon request, each team will digitally receive, as available, a copy of their presentation and the winning team in their division.
8. Institutions may submit multiple teams in the business pitch competition in each division, however, only the top two (2) scores will count towards the International Collegiate Business Skills Championship standings.