The 2012 Retail Innovation Challenge – The Elevator Competition

Students will be the stars of the November 16th Retail 2020 Conference and have the opportunity network with executives from major industry players. This is a place where the world’s best corporate retail innovators meet the world’s best student innovators.

The 20 teams with the best ideas get invited to beautiful Winston Salem, North Carolina for the conference and competition. As a bonus, we’ll even pay for room and board.

On the day of the event, each team will deliver two separate two-minute pitches while literally riding in an elevator! Don’t let the cameras psych you out because your pitch will be uploaded to the web in almost real-time for the online community to view. A special prize goes to the fan favorite.

The best five innovation ideas get invited to the Board Room for a 20 minute formal presentation. Top three ideas win cash prizes. First prize is $30,000. Awards will be presented at the evening gala. Don’t forget to stick around for the after party!

What do I need to do to enter the competition?

• Get an all-star team of 2-5 students.
• Come up with an amazing retail innovation idea.
• Generate a business model. This website may be very helpful. Want a winning idea? Test your model assumptions.
• Write a compelling summary of your idea and business model (must be less than 5 pages).
• Register for the competition by October 19th .