Six minutes doesn’t sound like much. But for the entrepreneurs stepping up to the microphone at SUNY Westchester Community College this fall, that window is the whole ballgame. The Valhalla college is staging LevelUp Pitch Challenge, its second annual pitch competition, and it has rebuilt the format based on learnings from the first time around. Behind it is a broader slate of entrepreneurship programming run out of the Workforce Development and Community Education Division, aimed at people who’ve got a business idea, or a fledgling business, and no formal training in how to run either.
How the Competition Works
Candidates apply through an online application system, and the screening starts immediately. Incomplete applications are disqualified. So are businesses that have been operating for less than six months or more than two years, which keeps the field focused on ventures at a comparable stage. Applications get reviewed for inconsistencies and completeness before they ever reach the judges.
From that pool, 25 participants are selected, but they don’t go straight to the podium. Each attends a series of workshops covering how to deliver a strong pitch and build a pitch deck, so that everyone walks in with the same baseline.
Then comes the pitch itself: four to six minutes in front of a judging panel and a live audience. The panel is a cross-section of the local business world, made up of small business owners, a chamber of commerce member, a representative of the SUNY Westchester Foundation, faculty and administrative staff, and someone from a partner small business development organization such as SCORE or the Small Business Development Center.
After the last pitch, judges deliberate and pick three winners, who take home $6,000, $4,000, and $2,000 respectively. There’s a string attached, and it’s a useful one. To collect the award, a winner has to complete at least three mentoring sessions with one of the college’s partner organizations, specifically to work through the weaknesses the judges flagged. Ultimately, the prize money comes with homework.
What Changed After Year One
The first competition ran on an open door — everyone who applied got to pitch.
“Some businesses were not yet at a stage where they could deliver a strong pitch, which created a wide gap between more seasoned presenters and less experienced ones,” says Eridania Quinn, program administrator in the Workforce Development and Community Education Division.
Hence the two fixes: the training workshops, and a selection process that now favors applicants who can clearly articulate their business model, objectives, and growth potential. The gap closes from both ends.
Beyond the Competition
The pitching is the main event. The programming underneath it runs year-round through a set of courses aimed at business growth and the mechanics of launching.
The flagship is From Idea to Venture: Your Roadmap to Launching a Successful Business, a 13-week hands-on program the college launched in spring of 2026. It’s designed to move participants out of the classroom and into the field, and it ends with a credential.
“By the end of the program, students won’t just understand the entrepreneurial journey, they will walk away with a polished, execution-ready business plan and the confidence to put it into action,” Quinn says.
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Along the way, students build a financial foundation; work through operational essentials including business structures, hiring, and licensing; and develop market-tested growth strategies.
A companion course, Profit, Growth, & Wealth: A Financial Health Course for Small Business Owners, zeroes in on the money side. The results can be unglamorous and immediate. Quinn points to one business owner who was mismanaging inventory and bleeding revenue as a result. The course taught her to track it properly, and her cash flow started climbing once the new system was in place.
The division also offers QuickBooks certification, Microsoft Office training, and other classes, which round out the skills a solo operator ends up needing whether or not they ever write a business plan.
Who’s in the Room
Don’t picture a lecture hall of 19-year-olds. Participants typically range from their mid-20s to their 50s. Some arrive with a full-time job and a side business they’re hoping to grow into something bigger. Others show up with nothing but an idea and a question about whether business ownership is realistic for them at all.
That mix shapes what success looks like. Someone starting from an idea might need a year or more to launch, and the college’s stated goal is to hand them the tools before they need them rather than rush the timeline. Others come in already operating, having never had any foundational training at all.
The Local Web
The programming leans on Westchester’s existing business infrastructure. The college partners with the SBDC, SCORE, and the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board to connect owners with resources beyond the classroom. The judging panel draws on Westchester-based small business owners, and some of those judges are past program graduates. One of them went a step further and invested in this year’s competition.
Funding for the competition itself comes from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship.
For a program in its second year, the loop is already closing: graduates coming back as judges, judges turning into backers, and 25 more people getting six minutes to make their case.
Next Steps
SUNY Westchester Community College’s second annual LevelUp Pitch Challenge takes place on October 15, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the college’s campus located at 75 Grasslands Road in Valhalla. For more info on the competition, application forms, and past winners, visit SUNY Westchester’s website.
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