Senior Marketing major Alex Hutchinson will have 90 seconds to convince judges at the Elevator Pitch contest in Chicago that he has an idea that will revolutionize how college students eat.

Hutchinson can’t give the details of his innovation before the contest. But he says that he will pursue it win or lose.

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Saluki CEO corps, a campus Registered Student Organization, is teaming up with Small Business Development Center, a city organization that helps people develop small business, and the university’s School of Business to send Hutchinson to the Oct. 31- Nov. 2 Elevator Pitch competition in Chicago. He will make his pitch to real investors for either a cash prize or idea sponsorship.

Robyn Russell, director of the Small Business Development Center‘s Business Development & International Trade, said the competition gives young entrepreneurs worldwide a chance to start their business and practice for a business pitch for future investment opportunities.

Very few students are chosen to go the Elevator Pitch Competition and SIU is fortunate to have a guaranteed space for one student, said Jenni Janssen, the coordinator for External and Executive Education and faculty adviser for Saluki CEO corps.

The university has sent a student to the competition for the past five years and is now allotted an automatic space because of the university’s competition frequency. Saluki CEO Corps held a competition Oct. 9 to prepare competition and decide who would attend.

Hutchinson believes he has a good chance in the competition because his idea is something the public needs and is a subject very close to his heart.

He was chosen after a preliminary round to the Elevator Pitch Competition, where students gave their pitch to a board of judges from their sponsors already mentioned and the SIU College of Business. Participants gave a 90-second pitch that answered the international competition’s main questions such as the type of business, addressed need, market size and opportunity, qualifications, product or service cost, anticipated profit per item or service and specific amount of investment needed for individual services.

“I won because I was the best qualified with the best idea and presentation skills,” Hutchinson said, “I was the he most prepared and the most confident in the product because of my experience with my product.”

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Janssen said the investors could choose to help any student’s idea even if he or she doesn’t win the competition, and the winner will receive $3,500 to help fund his or her business idea. It is also a way for young entrepreneurs to receive feedback from investors, she said.

Hutchinson said he was excited for the opportunity to meet the investors.

“I want to get my idea exposure to a real investor and get my name and idea out there so I can make my dream a reality,” Hutchinson said, “It would mean more to me than any cash prize.”

Janssen said having students attend the competition would get the university’s name out to prospective students.

“Any time you can compete with some other top notch universities is a good thing,” she said.

As a Elevator Pitch Competition competitor, Hutchinson will also have a chance to win the People’s Choice Award for his idea. He said he will post to YouTube a short film about his idea and why it is important to the community and university. The person with the most “likes” will win. Hutchinson said it would mean the world to have people learn about this idea and further his exposure.

Sponsorship or not, Hutchinson said he plans to carry out his idea even after he graduates. Janssen said she believes he has the will to accomplish his plan because he has already owned a small lawn care business while attending school. He has also previously had an internship with Edward Jones Investment Firm, which she said has furthered his knowledge in investments and how to go about finishing his idea. He said the Saluki CEO corps has also provided good insight to small area businesses and how they operate.

Russell said the Small Business Development Center helps entrepreneurs who want to start or expand a business, and it supports young entrepreneurs. The center sponsors and assists Saluki CEO corps by helping them attend competitions as well as host them.