New and innovative ideas take center stage at the fourth Pitch for $K Idea Pitch Competition event set for its virtual debut this week.
Aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and product creators will vie for a chance to win up to $5,000. Seven ideas will be selected to move on. At the next pitch event, more than $9,500 in prize money will go to the top four ideas.
Bell Communications, an American Sign Language (ASL) communication application developed by Linda Bell, won the third Pitch For $k competition in February. Other previous winners have included artisanal pasta (Mitch’s Artisanal Pasta), a service to teach children math through sports (STEMletics), and a bath and cosmetics retailer (The Sugar Mermaid). Adriane Deiulius, the owner of The Sugar Mermaid, was the first place winner of the first Pitch For $K competition in 2019, taking home $10,000.
Though the event promises over $9,500 in prize money to the top four ideas, the real prize lies with the support system put in place to assist individuals in moving their idea, product, or business forward.
Pitch For $K competition winners are privy to mentoring from business leaders across a wide range of industries, which help entrepreneurs refine their pitches and sell their ideas in a more compelling way.
The event is free and will be held virtually at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6.
“There has been a surge of business development in Genesee County,” Brandee Cooke, director of operations at 100K Ideas, told Flintside earlier this year. “More and more people are opening up small businesses. We are trying to help keep that momentum going.”
Pitch for $K is funded by Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and is facilitated by 100K Ideas in partnership with the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce and the University of Michigan-Flint’s Office of University Outreach.
Those who wish to participate can register for free through Eventbrite.
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