Courtyard by Marriott’s innovative campaign The Elevator Pitch, which commenced a month back to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs, announced its top five finalists. True to its brand attributes, the five contestants had to pitch their business idea in a unique and unconventional format. They had exactly 60 seconds each to impress the judging panel in the elevator of Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport. The panel included names like Mr. Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President of South Asia, Marriott International; Mr. Pratul Gupta, Vice President – Portfolio of Avigo Capital and Mr. PallavNadhani, co-founder and CEO of FusionCharts, with India’s champion woman golfer and model Ms. Sharmila Nicollet as the host. The winning project will be awarded a cash-prize of 1 million rupees to turn their idea into reality. The top five finalists are:
‘The Itch List’ – Ms. SmritiModi, Mumbai, Maharashtra
‘The Itch List’ brings people together to share and fulfil their desires. It is a social media networking site for like-minded individuals where people can share their list of things they want to do in life, from travel adventures to picking up a new extreme sport.
‘GALEA: Smart Helmet’ – Mr. Amar Kaushik, Bangalore, Karnataka
“Galea” is an equipped helmet device with a full rear-view camera and navigation system, much like a car, and a heads-up display interfaced with the rider’s smartphone so that it gives them the required information while allowing one to keep their eyes on the road.
‘DiVYA – Power Now at Home’ – Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh
‘DiVYA – Power now at home’ is the brainchild of Mr. Ranjeet Singh who lives in a small town Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. ‘DiVYA – Power now at home’ is a gravitational device that will generate energy for lighting, charging batteries in rural area and also aims to replace Kerosene.
‘Fluid as Shield’ – Mr. Saikat Acharya, Patna, Bihar
Mr. Saikat Acharya shared an idea to construct an armor for the Indian Army called ‘Fluid as shield’. The concept is to create an armor using air and water which will act as a medium to destroy or alter the direction of bullets.
SafeLock’ – Mr. Ankit Machhar, Mumbai, Maharashtra
SafeLock is an, affordable, portable gadget which can be installed anywhere to alert users remotely on break in of their doors, locker, drawer, glass window, cars, bikes and shutters.
With over 1,000 entries received from across the country in a short span of 4 weeks, the campaign received a tremendous response from public among diverse industries. On the occasion of the announcement, Mr. Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President – South Asia at Marriott International Inc. said, “Courtyard by Marriott’s Elevator Pitch received immense participation from young professionals who aspire to make it to the top. The overwhelming response received confirms our belief in the potential for the upcoming entrepreneurs in the country and we at Courtyard by Marriott endeavor to provide these sharp minds with the opportunity and services to help them succeed. The process of shortlisting included an in-depth review of all the ideas received. The finalists were selected based on the strength of their business ideas.
Moving into the second phase of this campaign, starting November 3 – 16, 2014, people will be invited to predict their favorite finalist explaining why they deserve to win. The voter who predicts the right winner (same as the judges) with the best reason stands a chance to a win three nights stay in a Courtyard Hotel in India of their choice.
