Going Up: Smith College’s Elevator Pitch Contest Celebrates Big Ideas

Sometimes the best ideas come together at the very last minute. That was the case for Smith College students Mary Clare Michael ’26 and Diane Okong’o ’27, two of the five winners of the Jill Ker Conway Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center’s 21st annual Elevator Pitch Contest. Budding entrepreneurs had 90 seconds—and the use of a single index card for notes—to pitch their ideas to a full room of attendees.

“I came up with [my idea] 15 minutes before walking in the door and wrote it down on a notecard at the event,” Michael recalls. “But that [made it more] exciting to me.”

Michael won the top prize of $1,000 for Best Pitch with “Pointe in Progress,” an adult amateur ballet company offering classes for dancers to learn choreography and perform classic routines, while Okong’o took home $500 and the Out of the Box award for “Touch Grass,” a tracking app that allows users to compete with friends in spending less time on their phones, while also showcasing how they use their newly reclaimed time. The three additional winners were Abby Lei ’29, who won $500 and the Finance-Free award for “Cyber Aware,” Katherine Haycox ’28, who earned the Educational Dividends award for “Block Building Cooperatives,” and Ruby Hong ’28, who was chosen by the judges for Best Pivot for “Pearish.” Haycox and Hong won $250 each for their entries.

Following the event, Michael and Okong’o shared more about their ideas and their experiences of pitching their work in just 90 seconds.

How did you come up with your idea?
Michael: “I was walking out of my intermediate ballet class to the elevator pitch contest, reflecting on how much I loved ballet and how I lamented not being able to perform it. I started dancing later in life at 14, and as an adult, you can take technique classes but rarely get to learn choreography or perform. I had always wanted to be in The Nutcracker, but unless I became a professional (which is not in the cards), I would never get the chance to perform it.”

Okong’o: “I was thinking about the amount of time I actually spend on my phone and struggling to concentrate and get work done and having all of these to-dos, but never getting through them. I was also thinking about what I could do with more time without my phone. It’s meant to encourage not just less screen time, but show what you have more time to do now that you're not scrolling endlessly.”

What was the elevator pitch contest like? Were you nervous, excited, both?
Michael: “I love the rush of adrenaline from presenting, especially in a high-pressure environment like an elevator pitch. I come from a background in theater, so I am used to improvisation and standing in front of a crowd. Once it was over, I was relieved and got to enjoy hearing everyone else’s pitches. Each year, I am always amazed by the creativity of my peers. People are funny, moving, emotional, and analytical, and I love to see how people approach selling their ventures. Smithies are so creative, so I was excited and intrigued throughout.” 

Okong’o: “I was definitely nervous at the beginning. I did a lot of breathing to calm myself down and I just went over the key points I was trying to get across. I calmed myself down by trying to lower the stakes and telling myself, ‘Look, you’re just pitching an idea, what’s the worst that could happen?’”

What was your reaction to winning a prize for this year's contest?
Michael: “Honestly, I was really surprised, but super grateful. A lot of my ventures start out as ideas that only I see the value in, or have to sell to others, but it was cool to see that other people were interested in my venture and could see the value in it. It definitely filled me with hope and excitement for the future.”

Okong’o: “I wasn’t expecting it, but I was excited, especially since I had just come up with the idea a couple of hours before. It was encouraging that there was actually substance in the idea, and showed me that it’s something that I should actually explore more.”

What are your plans to develop your idea further?
Michael: “I think I need to graduate and get my bearings as a working adult first, but I am seriously considering pursuing it as a business venture in the next few years. I think that what I learned from the pitch contest is that there is definitely a market for adults who want to pursue new passions. I want to be able to provide for others what that version of myself yearned for, and also show that it’s never too late to start something new.”

Okong’o: “I don’t think it’ll start out as a full-fledged tracker yet, but I do want to pursue it more in some way, especially in the next semester. I’m not sure what form it will take, and may not look exactly the same as I pitched, but it’s something I’m passionate about and excited to take further.”