Third Annual Entrepreneurial Improv: "The Battle of the Elevator Pitch"

THURSDAY, May 21, 2009 Get Ready for a Wild and Crazy Evening... Third Annual Entrepreneurial Improv: "The Battle of the Elevator Pitch"

During this annual event, we put four entrepreneurs to the test, giving them an imaginary, offbeat company to pitch - with almost no time to prepare!

For two years straight, Dick Beedon has delivered eccentric, energetic performances that are yet to be matched, earning him the coveted NEF Battle of the Elevator Pitch trophy. Can anyone out-pitch our defending champion? Join us to find out!

The Entreprenuers:
· Dick Beedon, Winner and Defending Champion of the first two NEF Elevator Pitch Battles, and Founder/Managing Director of MacBeedon Partners.
· Keith Brophy, General Manager at RCM.
· Mike Klein, President Online Technologies Corporation.
· Josh Linkner, CEO of ePrize.

The Judges:
· Chris Holman, Michigan’s Small Business Advocate.
· Pat Morand of the Southwest Michigan First Life Sciences Fund.
· Bob Payne of the Credit Suisse First Boston.
· Tom Porter of Trillium Ventures.

The Moderator:
David Brophy, father of the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and Professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business will return to moderate this entertaining affair for a third year.

The Wild Card:
If you were at last year's pitch battle, you know that singer/actor/presentation coach Eleni Kelakos can add some excitement to the evening. She's back!
Get a Sneak Peek; We're all a Twitter!

Check out what's coming: click here to see a short video about the battle pitch! (Requires QuickTime browser plugin.)

Also: Mike Klein and Dick Beedon are tweeting about this - you can follow them at:
· Follow Dick Beedon on Twitter
· Follow Mike Klein on Twitter

Showcase Presentation:
This month, our Showcase Presenter will be Husk Insulation, an early stage firm that converts plant-based agricultural waste into high-grade insulation that is a fraction of the thickness of conventional insulation.

Event Details:
Where: Holiday Inn North Campus, 3600 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor When: Registration & networking 5:00 p.m.; program begins at 5:45 p.m. Cost: Free to NEF members, $20 for non-members, $5 for students

Our Stakeholders & Sponsors:
We thank all of our sponsors, including our featured stakeholder sponsor for this event, the RPM Ventures. NEF is proud of the organizations that sponsor our activities; see our full stakeholder sponsor list at http://www.newenterpriseforum.org/.

Program Partners:
NEF partners with the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest to deliver educational business programs and networking events for new companies and entrepreneurs.

In addition, NEF partners with the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce to provide additional resources and services for our members.

Podcasts of NEF Speakers:
NEF has partnered with stakeholder sponsor MITechNews.Com to provide easy access to podcasts of NEF speakers through an NEF podcast channel.