Vivint CEO encourages entrepreneurs to pitch ideas
By SSN Staff
Updated Tue May 14, 2013
PROVO, Utah—A group of 10 Utah County-based startup companies competed to win $4,500 in cash and a chance to sit down with Vivint founder and CEO Todd Pedersen, according to an article from the Daily Herald, a newspaper based here.
The 10 companies were given a pitch environment in which they had four minutes to present business ideas to Pedersen, who asked questions and offered advice, though he did not pick the winner, which will be decided by an online vote.
Among products pitched at the competition was a baby monitor that tracks the vital signs of infants and sends the information to a person's smartphone, the article said.
It said that after gaining more than 1,000 votes, the Lunch Box Company took home the cash prize. The company also won the title of “Top Gun Entrepreneurs” in Utah Valley and the chance to meet with Pedersen, who heads home automation/home security giant Vivint, which is based here.
For the contest, the Lunch Box Company promoted a phone app that informs students at Brigham Young University where they can find free food on campus. Throughout the course of the contest, Pedersen counseled the presenters about the importance of protecting their products from duplication by competitors, stressing that the entrepreneurs should look to secure patents for their products, while ensuring the technology is easy for customers to use, according to the report.
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