Kittrell Pitch Competition
Do you have an idea for a product or service?
The Kittrell Pitch Competition allows students to deliver a business or product pitch in order to receive funding and support to bring their idea to reality. The competition happens in the fall and spring semesters.
The Fall Pitch
The fall competition is open to all eligible undergraduate and graduate students from any major, who will deliver a five-minute pitch of their business model to a panel of judges. The first-place winner will receive $2,500; second and third place winners will receive cash prizes of $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Winners at any level receive automatic qualification for the final round in the spring pitch competition and advising from the Center for Entrepreneurship.
The Spring Pitch
The spring competition takes the pitch to the next level, with up to $10,000 first-place prize for the winning team. Teams will compete in a qualifying round, in which three teams will be selected for the final round. Teams will deliver a 10-minute pitch to the panel and winning teams will be awarded $10,000 for first place and $3,00 and $2,000 for second and third places, respectively. The first-place team will receive personal advising from a mentor with relevant industry experience and all winners receive advising from the Center for Entrepreneurship.
Questions?
Applicants are encouraged to participate in individual pitch consultations with faculty from the Lipscomb Center for Entrepreneurship. Further questions and consultation requests may be sent to business [at] lipscomb.edu (subject: Kittrell%20Pitch%20Competition) ().
About the Kittrell Pitch Competition
The Kittrell Pitch Competition is made possible by generous donations from alumnus and member of Lipscomb’s Board of Trustees Marty Kittrell. Kittrell is a long-time supporter of Lipscomb’s Center for Entrepreneurship and donates in honor of his father, William B. Kittrell, who was a 1941 graduate of Lipscomb.
Marty Kittrell has extensive career experience in a variety of industries with a focus on corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and security offerings, private equity, organization development, and board practices. That experience culminated in the strategic sale of five companies and the initial public offerings of two companies over the past 30 years.
Since 2007 Kittrell has served as a member of the Board of Directors of NiSource Inc. NiSource is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. Kittrell serves as chairman of the audit committee and is a member of the finance and environmental, safety and sustainability committees
In 2012 Kittrell was appointed to the Board of Directors of On Assignment, Inc., a leading global provider of skilled contract, contract-to-hire, and direct hire professionals, serving the technology, healthcare and life sciences sectors. Kittrell serves as chairman of the audit committee
Kittrell served as Dresser, Inc.’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 until 2011, when he retired upon the sale of the company to General Electric. Dresser was a $2 billion global leader in the flow control, measurement systems, and compression and power systems segments of the energy industry.
Kittrell also served as Chief Financial Officer of Andrew Corporation from 2003 until 2007, when the company was sold to Commscope. Andrew was a $2 billion public company serving the global wireless infrastructure industry.
Previously, Kittrell served in executive management positions with companies participating in technology, consumer products, and other commercial and industrial industry sectors. Kittrell began his business career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse
Kittrell graduated magna cum laude from Lipscomb University. He is a member of Financial Executives International, the National Association of Corporate Directors and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is currently serving on the Board of Trustees of Lipscomb University, where he is chairman of the audit committee and is a member of the finance and real estate and buildings and grounds committees
Kittrell and his wife, Jane, reside in Franklin, Tenn.
