A three-member MBA students’ team from IIM Bangalore has won the national finals of ‘The Ultimate Pitch 4.0’, a competition organized by Reliance Industries Limited as a strategic elevator pitch contest to celebrate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial zeal among students.
Jinit Dharia, Mit Parekh and Yash Parekh of the 2018-20 batch of the Post Graduate Program (PGP) in Management had taken up developing biodegradable protective packaging material as the subject in the contest.
“Our idea was to develop a biodegradable protective packaging material. This will provide a substitute to styrofoam-based packaging,” Yash said.
In addition to bagging a cash prize of Rs 4.5 lakh, including Rs 50,000 for winning the campus round, the students will be eligible for mentorship under the Reliance Jio GenNext Hub.
They will also have an interaction with the Reliance chairman’s office, pre-placement interview and a trip to the Reliance refinery stated to be the world’s largest such facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
‘The Ultimate Pitch’ had pitted top teams from 55 B-Schools around the country against one another. In its fourth edition, the competition saw participation from 2,239 teams comprising 6,117 students.
ALSO READ: HBS Employment Report 2018 Sees 3.6% Rise to A Record $160,268 Compensation
The competition was organized in two stages – the regional rounds and the national finals. The regional round comprised a video submission, a presentation and a Q&A round, each lasting three minutes.
The top 23 teams were selected for the national finals held at Mumbai on February 14 and 15, 2019. The finals consisted of a three-minute video presentation and a four-minute Q&A round.
The primary judging criteria were viability, feasibility, & desirability. Sustainability also formed an important part of the judges’ focus.
