What can you accomplish in three minutes? You can sit at a traffic light, check out your groceries or blow dry your hair. But can you change your life, propel your business and impact your community?
On March 7, you can.
I invite you to participate in the FastPitch Business Plan competition March 7 at the Coastal Georgia Center.
With a three-minute pitch you have the chance to obtain coaching, feedback, encouragement and more from business leaders, entrepreneurs, students, consumers and service providers.
Dozens of participants have won prize money, found customers, formulated partnerships and made strides in their business by investing their time and energy in this three-minute pitch competition.
FastPitch is the annual business plan competition hosted by The Creative Coast, ATDC Savannah, and Georgia Southern. Incredible sponsors — Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, The Coastal Bank, Bouhan Falligant LLP, Herty Advanced Materials Research Center, and Georgia Centers of Innovation — make it possible.
The application is simple and online at fastpitchcompetition.com. The application window is open through Jan. 27.
The competition is for existing business, students or early stage innovative ideas. Certainly, you have had that moment where you envisioned a new solution, designed a product in your mind, wondered “couldn’t this process be improved?”
Yet the flame fizzled when there was no time to seek feedback, find supporters or let others improve on the idea. We have created that network and platform for you, so here is your chance.
New business concepts, product ideas and online services submitted by past participants include a safe social network for families, a child’s engaging hand-washing toy, a collaborative online teacher tool for creativity, pet beverages and more.
Savannah’s bound to have hundreds of more great ideas out there percolating at this very moment.
Here’s a quick experiment to show the power of three minutes. This is especially fun for working parents, but all can enjoy.
Tomorrow during the morning rush at your home, set your kitchen timer for three minutes and then go on with your regular morning routine. Perhaps you will sing, tie a shoe, sign a school paper, heat oatmeal, smile and sip coffee from an upside down penguin mug.
When you glance up at the clock, you’ll probably see 2:04 minutes still remain.
By the time the lunches are packed, kids are out the door and you are headed to the office, you will be certain the Marines’ slogan “we do more by 9 in the morning than most people do in an entire day” must have been inspired by multi-tasking moms and dads.
Now you realize the power of three minutes. In fact, you’ve probably become your own hero; so I hope you wear that invisible cape throughout your day.
By exploring the power three minutes can have, I hope you now see what you can do for others and for yourself in three short minutes. For those of you with innovative ideas racing around your heads, on the drawing board or even in the launch stage, fill out a FastPitch application this month.
For those of you with business experience, presentation skills or insights on consumer trends, consider offering your coaching acumen to a FastPitch participant. And finally, for those of you able to share your financial success, be a FastPitch sponsor and help increase the prize money.
Apply to FastPitch today and be your own or someone else’s hero. Either way, you will be our hero.
Bea Wray is the executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Bea can be reached at 912-447-8457 or bea@thecreativecoast.org.