Ryan Kindret '11 pitched his idea for a cell phone application that would act as a personal trainer and give the user personalized exercise and nutrition regimens. Sam Wright '12 presented an idea for a line of shoes with adjustable heel heights. And no Cornellian would be caught in the rain without an umbrella again if Fernando Guzman '13 launches his idea for a company that would install umbrella rental kiosks in buildings all over campus.

These students were three of the 15 Cornell students in the Third Annual Elevator Pitch Contest in Barnes Auditorium Oct. 26. The contest is based on the idea that an entrepreneur has only a few minutes, such as the time spent on an elevator ride, to catch a potential investor's interest.

Sponsored by the Cornell Entrepreneur Organization (CEO), a group of undergraduate entrepreneurs, and Cornell eLab, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurial businesses on campus, the contest received a record number 43 applicants this year, said CEO President Josh Moskovitz '11. The 15 finalists had two minutes to pitch their business idea to the audience of about 50 people and a panel of judges -- Jacie Strivers, entrepreneur in residence at the Johnson School; Stephen Gal, Johnson School professor of entrepreneurship; and John Jaquette, director of Entrepreneurship@Cornell -- at the event.

After each pitch, the judges asked the contestant several questions about their idea and then the audience and judges voted for the top three business ideas; Cornell eLab sponsored monetary prizes for the top three contestants.

The winners of this year's Elevator Pitch Contest are:

First place, with a $175 prize, went to Daniel Greene '12 for his idea for a system that would wirelessly connect cell phones to a food scale to record portion sizes to help people lose weight.

Second place, with a $75 prize, went to Giuseppe Di Cosimo '12 for his idea for a company that would extract precious metals from unwanted electronics and offer financial incentives to people who recycled their cell phones, televisions and other electronic equipment with the company.

Phoebe Yu '12 won third prize and $50 for her idea for an online or mobile phone system that would offer consumers ideas for social and leisure activities based on local community and business event calendars, weather and personal preferences.

Graduate student Kate Neafsey Engler is a student writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.