Twelve business teams competed in a two-hour Speed Pitching Competition event Tuesday afternoon in the Wilkinson Student Center as a side event in the Business Plan Competition.

The Speed Pitching Competition, sponsored and run by Funding Universe, gave the student competitors the opportunity to develop and practice explaining their business plans for future investors. To be involved in the event, teams in the Business Plan Competition had to submit an application to the Business Plan Leadership; from the applications 12 finalists were chosen. This is a side event to the Business Plan Competition and has no effect on later rounds in the competition, which has its final event on April 4.

This is the first year that the Speed Pitching Competition has been a part of the Business Plan Competition. Nile Hatch, adviser for the Business Plan Competition, said it is a goal of the overall competition to get as much feedback as possible and teach students they can't run a business on their own.

"It is fantastic for what we want to do," Hatch said. "We are trying to help students create and manage successful companies through helpful feedback, which they are getting in two hours."

The round-robin format of the competition had one to two judges sitting at 12 tables where the competitors pitched their business plan for three minutes, then had two minutes for questions and answers from the judges and then two minutes for feedback; judges were comprised of professionals, investors and mentors in business. Contestants would then rotate around the room, giving them the opportunity to present 12 times. The event was changed from its normal format of trying to get investors to providing feedback to the entrepreneurs. There are no "winners" in this event, only feedback evaluations filled out by judges.

"We geared the event more toward feedback than getting the companies investments," said Brock Blake, CEO of Funding Universe. "We want to help the competitors refine their business plans before the final event."

Competitors presented their business concept model along with useful tools such as prototypes, charts and specific points to try to prove why their business would be a successful venture. The company Klymit brought a jacket to show their technology, while School Tipline used slides to present their more intangible service.

Blake said he was happy to see some excitement created by the event, with both the investors and competitors.

"There were some investors who were interested in following up with companies, and I believe there are a few legitimate companies who are going to make it," Blake said.

A few of the competitors found it helpful not only to practice pitching to investors, but also in preparation for the final event in the Business Plan Competition.

"Before we started this event we could barely articulate what our business was. Now we know what to say in the competition and what investors are looking for," said Mark Kitchens, whose company is Green Logic Recycling.

Ben Maughan, CFO of Klymit, who has been to this competition before, brought new team member, Nick Sorenson, to help him learn the art of pitching.

"It was a good way for him to get feedback and other new competitors to the BPC," Maughan said. "When they get in front of everyone, they won't be as nervous and have word static."

Competitors were able to practice for a larger than expected crowd in the third floor of the Wilkinson Center, comprised mostly of students from the Entrepreneurship Lecture series class and future entrepreneurs who want to be a part of the Business Plan Competition. Many onlookers, organizers and competitors agreed that speed pitching was a helpful event for any entrepreneur.

"It is a must do for every entrepreneur, if they don't they will be a step behind everyone else," Maughan said.