While United Networks of America initially said they’d be willing to invest up to $1 million in and offer business assistance to the entrepreneurs behind the winning pitch at Wednesday evening’s Shark Tank-style Pitch Night competition, at the end of the night it appeared that all four firms making a pitch had a shot at landing some capital.
“There is going to be investment, but there is going to be investment besides just [from United Networks of America],” said David Ogwyn, of Ogwyn Bonaventure Attorneys at Law, hinting at the possibility of additional investments from some of the judges after the event, which was held at the Manship Theatre in conjunction with Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week.
Ogwyn, along with MESH owner Taylor Bennett, Tiger District owner Jared Loftus and Louisiana Technology Park Executive Director Stephen Loy co-hosted the event, which has been a highlight of the weeklong BREW schedule in recent years.
Four finalists made pitches to a panel of judges, which included Cajun Industries President and CEO Ken Jacob, United Networks of America CEO Brian Oliver, Michael Trafton of Blue Fish Development Group, crowdfunding expert Kendall Almerico and Revolution Ventures Director David Hall.
The pitches came from mobile app and networking platform Bottoms Up; CommitChange, which provides nonprofits with fundraising tools that can be managed from a single platform; MasteryPrep, which bills itself as the fastest growing ACT prep company in the country; and Spotter’s Fast-Fit-Food, a healthy quick service restaurant with three locations in south Louisiana and plans to establish a fourth in downtown Baton Rouge this fall.
“In the real world, money doesn’t change hands on stage,” Loftus, who also served as the evening’s MC, told the crowd after Jacob told the first two contestants—Bottoms Up and Spotter’s—that he’d like to talk more about possibly making a deal following the event. And aside from a crowd favorite cash award of $5,000, which went to MasteryPrep, Loftus was right: no money actually changed hands on stage.
United Networks’ Oliver said the company’s offer of up to $1 million plus marketing support for the winner is legitimate, but because of the limited time frame of the Pitch Night event it would not have been fair to make any hard funding decisions with crucial details about each entrepreneurs business model still unknown.
Following the pitches, the judges agreed that CommitChange technically had the best pitch; however, four out of the five judges chose MasteryPrep as the company they’d be most likely to invest in.
“I think the best pitch that was done was by CommitChange, however, I would invest in MasteryPrep,” said Almerico. “I like both business models, but quite frankly, I am rooting for MasteryPrep as a little bit more of the underdog.”
Despite the judges’ and the audiences’ overwhelming support for MasteryPrep, Jacob remained committed to his earlier interest in Bottoms Up and Spotter’s.
“The pitch is important, but perhaps it is not everything,” Jacobs told the contestants.
See a photo gallery from Pitch Night at the event’s website. —Gabrielle Braud
