On March 20th, 2024, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Rist DifferenceMaker Institute held its fourth workshop series session at the Alumni Hall Lounge, North Campus. The guest presenters for the evening were Professor Cathy Levey, College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and Professor Kevin Willett, Manning School of Business. 

Semi-finalist teams attended this session to learn about delivering their rocket pitch for the Preliminary Pitch-off on April 2nd. At this event, teams have a chance to advance to the $50,000 Idea Challenge Final event. The semi-finalist teams who will be pitching at the Preliminary Pitch-off are: 

ACE Difference Makers 

Bear Hugs 

Braille Ereader 

Comprehension Clicker 

Flix Toothpicks 

FreshStart 

Fridgie 

iPrep 

JC- Fit 

myHub 

Pawva Smart Pet Bed 

Pitch Pal 

ProVision.Ai 

RightsWatch 

SenseMakers 

Shay G Productions  

Shine in Academy  

Simple Cut 

SoundWaves 

UrbanX 

Vertical Solutions  

To start off the workshop, Rist DifferenceMaker Director , Richard Juknavorian provided a recap of the past workshop sessions, which addressed topics such as Identifying Problems, Assessing Opportunities and Value Proposition, and Developing Business Models.   

Then, Professor Cathy Levey opened and discussed the content that should be addressed during the DifferenceMaker pitch presentation: the problem, opportunity, solution, needed resources, as well as being prepared for judge questions. She also spoke about additional considerations to look out for during and after the rocket pitch session.  

She then showed videos of past teams, including Point Stick and BioBubbler pitching their idea so students would have an example to follow learning about what makes an effective pitch. This allowed students to compare what they just learned to an actual pitch presentation that occurred. Students can watch and learn from other past pitches that are on the DifferenceMaker YouTube page, which can be utilized while practicing for the Preliminary Pitch-off. 

To guide the students further, Professor Kevin Willett spoke about the challenge of presenting an idea. To tackle this, he discussed being confident and sharing your topic with lots of energy and passion. He also talked about having relevant pictures on each slide, as well as limiting the words per slide, which helps keep the audience engaged. 

Concluding the inspiring evening, DifferenceMaker Fellow David Vatalaro shared valuable insights and invited five teams to pitch their ideas. He then engaged the audience, asking for their thoughts on the pitches and how the experience boosted their confidence and preparedness for the big day. 

Thank you to everyone who attended Workshop 4! Good luck to all teams pitching at the Preliminary Pitch-off on April 2 at the O’Leary Library, Mezzanine. Register to support the student teams pitching for the Preliminary Pitch-off here. 

Additionally, the 2024 13th Annual DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge will take place on April 16 at University Crossing, Moloney Hall, Room 260. Register to attend the $50,000 Idea Challenge here. 

To revisit the topics discussed, watch our video, Spring Workshop Series 4: Delivering Your Rocket Pitch. 

On Tuesday, February 25, DifferenceMaker held Workshop 3: Developing Business Models and Solutions at the Saab Center, Perry Atrium, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. This session helped student teams who applied to the $50,000 Idea Challenge to focus on their idea’s solutions by piecing together their business models.

To kick off the night, Richard Juknavorian, Rist DifferenceMaker Director, welcomed everyone. Next, he provided students with information on submitting their Idea Plan, announcements for semi-finalists, and reminders to schedule a meeting for one-on-one coaching with mentors.

Richard Juknavorian started off by providing examples of companies such as Gillette, FedEx, Zipcar, and Pill Pack. Each are successful companies in their own way, all from various industries in today’s market. For example, Gillette makes their profit by selling cheap razor handles that go along with expensive, high quality razor blades that attach to them. This allows customers to stay loyal to their brand, as they need to continually purchase specific Gillette blades that fit the handle that they already own. He then introduced David Vatalaro, DifferenceMaker Fellow. 

David Vatalaro, went further in depth and explained the multiple components needed to have a successful business model. He discussed factors such as the new venture timeline and each component of the business model canvas, such as customer segments, value proposition, revenue streams, and more. This allowed students to think deeply about details that will drive their ideas to success in the real world. After the detailed lessons, students were encouraged to work on their business models and solutions. They utilized business model canvas poster boards and solution worksheets to assist with this process. A business model canvas glossary was also provided to each student to help refresh their memory on the information that was provided. The students also received an Idea Plan template, and their final Idea Plans are due on March 5th by 5 PM.

Thank you to everyone that joined DifferenceMaker for Workshop 3! If you are interested in learning how to further develop your project for the $50,000 Idea Challenge, recruiting new team members, and gaining new skills, please register for the final workshop this semester. Dinner will be served! 

Workshop 4 – Delivering Your Rocket Pitch, March 20^th

Questions? Email us at DifferenceMaker@uml.edu.