The pitch of a lifetime

OSHKOSH - Starting a business is a dream for some people, but it's one even fewer ever act on.

Wednesday several entrepreneurial UW-Oshkosh students took a step toward that dream.

Ninety seconds is about the length of an average TV news story.  That's how long each of seven UW-Oshkosh students had to sell their business idea Wednesday night.

"I'm doing a once in a lifetime pitch in front of multi-millionaires!" exclaimed junior Casey Despres.

Successful business people including UW-Oshkosh alumnus and Neenah native Craig Culver made up the panel with a $1,000 prize on the line.

Culver told FOX 11 he was looking for one key ingredient.

"Passion. Are they really passionate about whatever direction they're going with their project?" explained Culver.

Casey Despres said she has that in spades. She wants to expand a delivery dessert business with her mom.

"It's always been her passion and her dream. So I just wanna make her dream come true," explained Despres.

This event is part of the school's College Entrepreneurship Organization, C.E.O.

Student founder Jordan Rhodes started the club last year to get students to seriously consider starting their own businesses.

"This is the best time for that risk, because they don't have to worry about leaving a job they're secure with. They don't have to worry about putting their family on the line, their house on the line," said Rhodes.

C.E.O.'s goal is to try to help turn what seems like an impossible dream into a reality.

"A lot of students have ideas and don't know where to go for money and support. So we really try to connect that," Rhodes told us.

One example being this one time pitch.