Pitch Event: Thursday, May 19, 3-5pm via Zoom

Who are competing?

Katie Jeleniewski and Kate Hammond
Middletown Township Public Library (New Jersey)
“MAKERS MAKE BUSINESS: Supporting Our Community Crafter Entrepreneurs”

Mary Guillory
Xavier University of Louisiana Library
“Makers Dive In”

Corey Frederick and Chad L’eplattenier
Nashville Public Library (Tennessee)
“NPL Means Business to the High School”

Kate Davis and John Butler
Jersey City Free Public Library (New Jersey)
“Uncut Gems: Promoting Minority Immigrant and Female Entrepreneurs in Jersey City“

Audra Espinoza
Hastings Public Library (Nebraska)
“MOVERS and Shakers: Making Entrepreneurship Accessible In Rural Settings”

Pitch event schedule:

Welcome
Pitches by the five libraries
Voting for the Audience Choice Award
Updates from two 2020 pitch competition winners: what happened afterwards?
Judges announce the winners
ELC co-chairs announces the the Audience Choice Award winner
Networking and discussion (lightly moderated by the ELC)

Judges

Dr. Channelle James — **Channelle D. James**, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the Bryan School of Business and Economics at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches and does research in social and sustainable entrepreneurship. Dr James is also the President and Executive Director of Community Ventures Inc., a nonprofit startup focused on creating social good in Greensboro North Carolina through entrepreneurship and social innovation.

**Diane Luccy** is the Business and Careers Manager, Richland Library in South Carolina. She manages Richland Library’s Business and Career Department and leads the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program. Since 2010, hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners have used the library’s resources and staff expertise to launch and grow their enterprises.

**Janet McRae** is the Economic Development Director at Miami County, Kansas. She works with local chambers of commerce, Small Business Development Centers, and Network Kansas to engage entrepreneurs across Miami County. She works with local libraries by hosting events at their locations, funding training on makerspace initiatives, and jointly planning a county-wide reading program focused on entrepreneurship.

Awards

Thank you to EBSCO for sponsoring the pitch competition! EBSCO logo

1st place: $2,250
2nd place: $1,000
3rd: place $500
4th & 5th: $250
Audience award: an additional $750 to one of those 5 libraries.

Registration

Nature of the pitch

Is your library a player in economic development? Or do you have an idea on how your library could contribute to job creation, entrepreneurship, and nonprofits — but you could use a little funding to get started?

@ the Table is the pitch competition of the Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference (ELC). Libraries will be invited to pitch ideas or initiatives to stakeholders in economic development. Public, school, special, and academic librarians are encouraged to apply.

The focus of the pitches is how a library can support local economic development, job creation, workforce development, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, small businesses, or innovation in general.

Application Timeline

The competition consists of two phases: following the initial application, five finalists will advance to the pitch competition.

May 5: Deadline for pitch submissions
May 9: The five finalists are notified
May 10-18: The ELC pitch consultant, Jenn Hensel, will meet with each finalist who is interested in her support. Optionally, each finalist can have a Zoom practice/tech-check.
May 19, 3-5pm EST: Pitch competition

Resources

Watch the April 21, 2022 pitch workshop.

Watch the ELC 2020 pitch competition. Also note at the bottom the interview with Jenn Hensel.

Planners

Event co-chairs:

Angel Truesdale (UNC Charlotte): [email protected]
Kellee Forkenbrock (North Liberty Library): [email protected]
Steve Cramer (UNC Greensboro): [email protected]

ELC 2022 Pitch Competition Planning Team

Pitch Perfect: A Workshop for Librarians

Watch the Pitch Perfect workshop on youtube here!

Watch this recording to learn practical skills on creating a compelling pitch designed to generate engagement, excitement, and maybe even funding. From content to delivery, this workshop focused on what it takes to design an award-winning project pitch. Get expert advice from Jenn Hensel, Pitch Coach for ElePitch, as well as two winners from the 2020 ELC Pitch Competition.

ElePitch logo