Pitch-It Competition

Saturday, October 18th | 3:30-5:30pm
60 Chelsea Piers, 23rd St. & Hudson River Park, New York, NY 10011

Wrap up your day with a refreshment and an energy boost! Join us for an exciting, fast-paced showcase where twenty bold Lauder alumni, student, and partner entrepreneurs take the stage to pitch their startups—in just two minutes each—to a panel of distinguished alumni judges. It’s your chance to witness the next big ideas before they take off!

Competition Guidelines
3-2-1… Go!

This is a high-energy lightning round where brevity is the name of the game. Each presenter has just 3 slides, 2 minutes to make their pitch, and 1 minute to wow the judges with answers. No fluff, no filler—just sharp, punchy, and unforgettable ideas. Think fast, speak clearly, and make every second count!

Company, Lauderpreneur

  1. Keye, Rohan Parikh ‘23 Yuri

  2. CalmMeno, Kelly Ryan ‘96

  3. BrainFood, Megan Burton ‘24

  4. Courthound Collective, Luke Iott ‘24

  5. Dakota Prep, Alex Au ’26 partner

  6. Tendor, Chad Payne ‘23

  7. Nuvia, John Paz ‘18

  8. Origami Venture Studio, Rehaab Ali Raza

  9. Forkast, Yashodana Raj ‘25

  10. Vested AI, Shuyang Bai ‘16

  11. Kidas, Ron Kerbs ‘20

  12. Menyou, Jennifer Bryan ‘25

  13. Zepo Intelligence, Antonio Munoz Villanueva

  14. Momenta Real Estate, Liya Mo ‘20

  15. Empower Sleep, Sagar Chopra ‘22

  16. Nest, Jackie Kim ‘25

  17. Lengua, Abigael Bambgoye ‘26

  18. Kami, Leticia Viedma ‘20

  19. Learn.ai, Sai Yeluru ‘23

  20. Morel, Peixin Mo ‘21

Judges

Miguel Armaza ’21
Patrice Backer ‘93
Kathryn Harrison ‘12
Annie Wang ‘13

Host

Arikan Olguner '01

Pitch-It Committee Members

Ignacio Marchionna Fare ‘24
Paolo Fornasini ‘23
Laura Goldenberg ‘93
Marina Jacobson ‘93
Aleksas Juskys ‘16
Stephanie Michael Silva ‘23

Mentors

Sebastian Apud ‘17
Yuri Gomes de Abreu ‘22
Shawn Xu ‘19
Julie Abrams ‘89
Mike Ravitsky ‘22
Yuri Gomes de Abreu ‘22
Patrick Deem ‘09
Aniko Szigetvari ‘98
Franco Martinez Levis ‘20


Awards

First, Second, and Third place award certificates will be presented to the winning teams at the Soiree on Saturday evening.

Location

60 Chelsea Piers, 23rd St. & Hudson River Park
New York, NY 10011 

Time

Saturday October 18th, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Immediately following the conference

Dress Code

Business Casual

Google Maps

Disclaimers

ALL PARTICIPANTS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NO SOLICITATION FOR FUNDING CAN BE MADE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEIR PITCH AND THAT THEIR PITCH IS NOT AN OFFERING, RATHER AN OVERVIEW OF THEIR BUSINESS IDEA, PRODUCT OR CONCEPT.

PARTICIPANTS AND ATTENDEES ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN PITCH IT PARTICIPANTS AND EVENT ATTENDEES ARE UNAFFILIATED WITH THE JOSEPH H. LAUDER INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND THE LAUDER INSTITUTE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.

THE LAUDER GLOBAL ALUMNI WEEKEND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY ANY ENTRY IN ITS’ JUDGMENT THAT VIOLATES THE RULES OF THE COMPETITION OR IS NOT ALIGNED WITH THE PURPOSE OF THE COMPETITION.

THE LAUDER GLOBAL ALUMNI WEEKEND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY INFORMATION DISCLOSED DURING THE COMPETITION.

NEITHER THE JOSEPH H. LAUDER INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES NOR THE LAUDER INSTITUTE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION GUARANTEES THE ACCURACY OF THE MATERIAL PRESENTED OR THE EFFICACY OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PITCHED.



Confidentiality

Confidentiality is not guaranteed in any way. Do not include confidential material in your submissions. There is no way for the Lauder Global Alumni Weekend organizers to enforce a prohibition of other competitors, audience members, or judges who see and hear a pitch competitor’s materials from sharing the idea and/or materials.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) between a competitor and the judges and/or audience members will not be required or allowed.

Sharing your idea or concept may be deemed a public disclosure, so if you are interested in filing a patent, you may need to consult with a patent attorney before entering the competition.

Lauder Global Alumni Weekend organizers are not responsible for any confidentiality issues that may occur during the course of the competition and will not be involved in any way with disputes arising therefrom.

Lauder Global Alumni Weekend organizers may take photographs and/or video of any materials used or made available by pitching individuals or teams during the competition for public relations purposes. Any content presented by a contestant should be considered public knowledge.