Pitch Deck Competition

The Cornell Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition is an experiential learning opportunity for student entrepreneurs who are contemplating, starting, or operating an early stage hospitality-based venture, and who are looking to improve their pitching skills, with the potential to earn seed funding for their venture.

watch the 2020 competition

Official Rules and Guidelines

Video: Cornell Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition

No business plan required for this competition.

You just need ten or fewer slides to compete, along with a great hospitality industry idea!

Students register for the competition in early fall and submit their pitch decks in October for review by a team of faculty judges. Four finalists will be selected to present in November to a panel of industry judges. The cash prizes are: winning team, $3,000, second place team, $1,500, and third place, $500.

All aspects of the competition will take place virtually this year.

For complete guidelines and information, review the official rules of the Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition or contact the Pillsbury Institute at pihe@cornell.edu or 607.255.0179.

Media Coverage

Cornell Chronicle, November 18, 2020: Swipe, match, eat: ‘Weet’ pitches better online dating app
Cornell Chronicle, November 27, 2019: Pitch competition rewards new ‘way’ to pay restaurants
Cornell Chronicle, November 27, 2017: Software that keeps the faith wins pitch competition
Cornell Chronicle, November 22, 2016: Mexican eatery idea wins ‘pitch deck’ competition

Pitch Deck Competitions by Year

2020 Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to the 2020 winning teams!

First place($3,000): WEET
Second place ($1,500): Ultraviolet Transactions
Third place ($500): Life After Life
Honorable Mention: Executive Chef

Watch full recording

Team WEET

Abhimanyu Goyal ’22 envisioned a mobile app that allows our users to make romantic connections while allowing our partner businesses to acquire new customers. Our users experience a fun, safe, low-pressure dating experience while our partners (restaurants) see a theoretically limitless stream of new faces to convert into return customers.

Team Ultraviolet Transactions

Samantha Law ’21 (CALS) and Alexa Torres ’21 created a sanitation device that eases employee and guest fears when it comes to payment. By using UV-C light technology, UV Transactions quickly disinfects all forms of payment which include cash, credit cards, coupons, etc. UV Transaction aims to improve the overall guest and employee experience by creating a safer and cleaner interaction.

Team Life After Life

Jeremiah Swain MMH ’21 and Jacob Tennenbaum ’21 (Baker) re-imagines the conventional cemetery and its multitude of unsustainable shortcomings to create a socially and environmentally valuable alternative that embraces evolving cultural norms, the funeral affordability crisis, and the rapidly decreasing availability of land. We look to capitalize on the momentum of the natural burial movement by creating beautifully landscaped native garden cemeteries in semi urban areas.

Team Executive Chef

Olivia Friedberg ’24 and James Lambert ’24 designed a high-end meal delivery service that partners with high-end restaurants to create easy to cook meal kits inspired by signature dishes on their menu. We aim to combine high quality ingredients and drink pairings to bring fine dining experiences directly to the consumer’s kitchen.

Special thank you to our judges:

Final Judges

Bob Alter ’73, President, Seaview Investors LLC
Monica Digilio, Director, Sunstone Hotel Investors
Warren Leeds ’84, P ’14 & P ’19, Founder and CEO, Dartcor Food Services

Semi-final Judges

Fred Singer, President & CEO, Singer Equipment Co.
Kenny Blatt ’81, Principal, Caribbean Property Group Real Estate
Jess Petitt ’05, Vice President – Analytics, Hilton
Ashwin Kamlani, MMH ’03, Executive Vice President, Kognitiv
Chris Hemmeter ’86, Managing Director, Thayer Ventures
Stacy Silver, President, Silver Hospitality Group LLC

Media Coverage

Cornell Chronicle, November 18, 2020: Swipe, match, eat: ‘Weet’ pitches better online dating app

2019 Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to the 2019 winning teams!

First Place: WAY
Second Place: Silver Moon
Third Place: Suna Breakfast

First Place: WAY ($3,000)

Splitting the check requires fighting to get a server’s attention, calculating who owes what, and finding yourself in uncomfortable situations with friends. WAY is a FinTech startup that streamlines the check-splitting process. Simply scan a photo of the check, share with friends, choose your items, and pay with WAY.

Joe Davolio ’20 (ILR)
Justin Goldstein ’21 (SHA)

Second Place: Silver Moon ($1,500)

Silver Moon is a travel agency targeting the wealthy retired population in China who are seeking personalized overseas travel planning products & services.

Shucen Ding, MMH ’20

Third Place: Suna Breakfast ($500)

Suna Breakfast is a breakfast delivery service bridging the gap of students waking up in the morning wanting food but not having access to healthy and convenient options, and university dining systems and diners that have significantly more production capacity in the morning but no way to reach these customers.

Pedro Bobrow ’20 (Dyson)
Max Child ’20 (SHA)

Honorable Mention: Alfred Complete

Alfred Complete aims to create an all-in-one hotel utility to improve the hotel users’ experiences.

Deven Girgenti ’20 (Dyson)
Luke Verzella ’23 (SHA)

Special thank you to our judges

Finals Judges

Meli James ’00, Mana up & Hawaii Venture Capital Association
Warren Leeds ’84, Dartcor Food Services
Danny Stein ’92, Volery Capital Partners

Semi-finals Judges

Bob Alter ’73, Seaview Investors
Kenny Blatt ’81, CPG Real Estate
Stacy Fisher-Rosenthal, Fischer Travel Enterprises & Fischer-Rosenthal Consulting
Ravi Mehrotra, IDeaS Revenue Solutions
Mark Wolman, Waterford Hotel Group
Ellen Yui, YUI+Company & YUIDesign

Media Coverage

Cornell Chronicle, November 27, 2019: Pitch competition rewards new ‘way’ to pay restaurants

2018 Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to the 2018 winning teams!

First place: Speak2 Systems
Second place: BoutiquePlus+
Third place: home2home

Team Ashmad

Aishwarya Singh SHA ’22 and Madeline Hanscom HumEc ’22 propose to create a nonprofit organization that teaches special needs and disabled kids and adults basic hospitality skills, in hopes to position them for job opportunities.

View presentation

Team BoutiquePlus+

Xiaokun Qin SHA ’19 and Yennie Handika MMH ’19 aim to provide professional, local, up-to-date, and integrated digital marketing management solutions for the fast-growing Chinese boutique hotels.

View presentation

Team home2home

Sebastian Barrera MMH ’19 and Kathy Lin MHA ’19 propose to offer young traveling professionals mid-length stay apartments with all accommodations one would find in their own home.

View presentation

Team Speak2 Systems

Ori Belson MAE ’19 and Tim Buttigieg SHA ’19 are focused on improving the well-being and quality of life of intubated patients within intensive care units worldwide. Hoping to improve the recovery process for such patients, especially those who might otherwise require increased levels of sedation and introduction to opioid drugs.

View presentation

Special thanks to our judges

Finals Judges

Felix Litvinsky, Blackstone LaunchPad, Cornell University
Denise Ramzy, Dyson School, Cornell University
Jules Sieburgh, Jules A Sieburgh, LLC

Semi-finals Judges

Yaniv Blumenfeld, Glacier Global Partners
Jeanne Bowerman ’86, Script Magazine
Diana Dobin, Valley Forge Fabrics
Marisa Sergi ’15, RedHead Brands
Brad Treat MBA ’02, Cornell University
Ellen Yui, Yui+Company

2017 Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to the 2017 winning teams!

First place: Religio
Second place: Sweat in the City
Third place: Rewardzzzz
Fourth place: QuicKey

Team Religio

Peter Cetal ’19 (ILR) introduces an enterprise software company that gives churches the tools to better connect, engage, and retain their parishioners online.

Team Sweat in the City

Michelle Park ’18 (SHA) and Elyse Wolin ’18 (SHA) propose to create an online marketplace of boutique fitness studios where people can find and learn about all the studios in their city, buy class packages, and book their classes—all in one place.

Team Rewardzzz

Hunter Friedland ’19 (SHA) explains the creation of a universal rewards and loyalty program built on blockchain.

Team QuicKey

Yash Malhotra ’18 (SHA) and Ilan Filonenko, MEng ’18 introduce an app that lets day travelers rent hotel rooms by the hour.

Media Coverage

Cornell Chronicle, November 27, 2017: Software that keeps the faith wins pitch competition

2016 Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to the 2016 winning teams!

First place: Dona Nata
Second place: SportStorm
Third place: Bill’s Beer, Bread, and Cheese

Team Dona Nata

Natalia Ruiz MMH ’17 and Antonio Miceli MMH ’17 is introducing to the market traditionally-cooked, authentic Mexican cuisine prepared and delivered in a fresh market setting evoking the “fonda” Mexican dining style.

View presentation

Team SportStorm

Sam Frey ’20 and Harrison Bernstein ’20, proposes to combine sports and fashion to create a new spin on winter jackets. Our jackets are a fresh idea that will gain unquestioned popularity within the sports industry.

View presentation

Team Bill’s Beer, Bread, and Cheese

William Mangan MMH ’17 and Lydia Xu MMH ’17 highlights Fishtown, Pennsylvania’s industrial past by creating a fast-casual restaurant, bar and market that has its own craft brewery, artisanal bakery and distinctive cheese cave on premise. Guests are encouraged to watch and learn how to make beer, bread and cheese, enjoy innovative beer, bread and cheese pairings through our dine-in menu that integrates our three artisanal products, as well as take their favorite Bill’s products home.

View presentation

Video: The Cornell Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition

Media Coverage

Cornell Chronicle, November 22, 2016: Mexican eatery idea wins ‘pitch deck’ competition