Crains New York - November 26, 2012 - (Page 12)

SMALL BUSINESS Revenge of the scorpion bots A robotics educator takes first place in Crain’s Perfect Pitch Competition at Columbia grammed and don’t have time for doing and making things,” said Ms. Allen. L BY ELAINE POFELDT aura Allen has made it her mission to keep local youngsters from being bored by teaching them 21st-century skills like robotics and Claymation. Ms. Allen, who previously directed the computer department at the Buckley School in Manhattan, keeps them busy with preschool and afterschool programs and day camps at the Upper West Side location of her Manhattan business, RoboFun, and in classes in nine local public schools. “I think our kids are overpro- Audience-choice award Armed with a “scorpion bot” that her students had built from Legos, Ms. Allen won first place for her company in the third annual Crain’s New York Business Perfect Pitch Competition, held at Columbia Business School on Nov. 16. The competition’s prize is a men- IT’S ALIVE!: RoboFun’s Laura Allen (center) wows judges Jill Kaplan (left), Erik Ipsen and Elaine Pofeldt (right) with her students’ motion-detecting Lego creature. tion in Crain’s New York Business and a bottle of wine. Seven small busi- Commercial Banking Group Commercial Real Estate nesses competed in the live event, designed to show participants how to catch the eye of the media. The judges were Jill Kaplan, publisher of Crain’s, Erik Ipsen, deputy managing editor, and me, a contributing editor. RoboFun also won the audience-choice vote. Ms. Allen impressed the judging team with her vision for the business, which she is considering franchising. She has built the 15-person firm to about $1.5 million in annual revenue in five years. Capital One Bank® helps real estate companies take their businesses to the next level. As a top-10 U.S. bank, our dedicated Commercial Real Estate specialists deliver custom solutions, from streamlined cash flow to project-based financing. For real results in real estate, count on the experts at Capital One Bank. Visit capitalonebank.com/commercial to learn more. Products and services offered by Capital One, N.A., Member FDIC. © 2012 Capital One. Capital One is a federally registered service mark. All rights reserved. Props help The second-prize winner was V&M (Vintage and Modern), an online marketplace for vintage furniture,antiques,art and jewelry,with about $4 million in annual sales. Under the leadership of founder Loren Brill, Sweet Loren’s, the third-place winner, has secured distribution for its ready-to-bake desserts in stores such as Whole Foods Markets. In the first round of the contest, the competitors videotaped “elevator pitches,” offering the judges a quick overview of their businesses. After the contest, the judges offered some advice to those seeking media coverage—such as a suggestion to bring props, as Ms. Allen did. Here are some other tips: Know who you’re pitching. Crain’s requires financial information on the businesses it covers, so competitors who came prepared to disclose this data cleared one key hurdle. “We are very vigilant about understanding what your revenue model looks like,” explained Ms. Kaplan. Tell a great story. Talis Lin, an executive vice president at V&M, caught the judges’attention by mentioning customers such as Nicole Miller and the site’s sale of rare photos by film director Stanley Kubrick. This type of information, when woven into the subject line of an email pitch, can grab an editor’s attention. Explain how you’re different. Leah Abraham, who represented Ristorante Settepani, which has two locations in Manhattan, intrigued the judges by mentioning her work with a food historian on the menu. Showcase a strong team. Because of Hurricane Sandy, R. Adam Smith, chief executive of V&M, could not attend the event. Mr. Lin, his wellprepared substitute, held up under tough grilling on the business’s financials. “That showed me the strength of the team,” said Ms. Kaplan. To sign up for Crain’s SMALL BUSINESS newsletter, go to www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz. 12 | Crain’s New York Business | November 26, 2012 buck ennis http://www.capitalonebank.com/commercial http://www.capitalonebank.com/commercial http://www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - November 26, 2012

Crains New York - November 26, 2012
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
SMALL BUSINESS
REPORT: REAL ESTATE
THE LIST
REAL ESTATE DEALS
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - November 26, 2012

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130729
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130722
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130715
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130624
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130617
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130527
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130520
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130513
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130429
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130422
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130415
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130325
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130318
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130225
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130128
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121224
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121126
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121029
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120924
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120917
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120827
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120820
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120813
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120730
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120723
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120716
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120625
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120618
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120528
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120521
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120514
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/nxtd
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com