PEMBROKE — Appearances do count when you make “the pitch,” especially if there are only 90 seconds.

Seven seniors at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, all entrepreneurs-in-training, took the “elevator” challenge recently, giving them a taste of the real world of business. They gave pitches to a panel of expert judges for everything from health spas to trucking companies.

Lumbee Guaranty Bank CEO Larry Chavis was a judge. He was looking for good communication skills, but he also had an eye on experience.

“Usually I get a 90-second pitch that lasts a lot longer,” Chavis said with a smile. “Experience is very important, but I get a lot of experienced people who can’t write a business plan.”

Judge Beth Wilkerson, an expert in business plans and assistant director of UNCP’s Small Business and Technology Development Commission, said the competition is a good training exercise for young entrepreneurs.

“Most people have a brief attention span, so you should get it done in the first 60 to 90 seconds anyway,” Wilkerson said.

“For this type of business pitch, get in front of the mirror,” she advised the students.

“I wouldn’t go too deep into numbers, and I wouldn’t assume your audience has a baseline understanding of your business,” said Wilkerson.

Nick Arena, a top business executive turned professor, said communication skills are essential.

“I am teaching a class on business communication right now,” Arena said. “Eye contact is important. It helps to be relaxed too.”

The seven presenters are in Mike Menefee’s capstone or final class in UNCP’s new entrepreneurship certificate program. They are the first seven graduates.

“There are cash prizes for the top three,” Menefee said. “That adds to the pressure and gives it a sense of reality.”

Shahnee Haire won $100 for her first place pitch for a healthy lifestyles studio for children.

“Childhood obesity is increasing,” she said. “I have four years experience teaching dance, and I worked in a teen outreach program at the Health Department.”

Menefee said Haire hit every mark: Appearance, poise, clarity of message and marketing savvy.

Second place went to James Hampton, who would start a trucking and warehousing company in Rowland, his hometown.

“I have 30 years in this industry, eight as a driver,” Hampton said. “There is a great need to move goods to slaughterhouses, for retail, government and the military.

“Our community needs the jobs and I estimate we would create 25 to 30,” Hampton said to conclude his pitch.

Tying for third place were Jaclyn Waite, who would open a live music bar called “Anti-Gravity” in Cary, and Selma Nijs, an exchange student from the Netherlands, who would import an idea from Europe to build spas in the upscale Washington, D.C., area.

“Cary’s dilemma is that there is not enough to do,” Waite said. “Anti-Gravity is the solution. The only question I have is ‘will you be with me to share the profits?’” she said.

Nijs said, “Listen to your body, Europeans do ... We lead stressful lives, and this idea works in Europe. Why not in the U.S.?” she said.

Cash prizes for the “elevator” challenge were contributed by Lumbee Guaranty Bank and Tony Normand, CEO of COMtech.