Get Started Pensacola allows local entrepreneurs to pitch their idea or product to a panel of judges for their chance to win a prize package worth over $20,000. Local entrepreneurs, startups and small business owners interested in presenting their business plan or idea can now sign up at coxblue.com/getstartedpensacola. Get Started Pensacola will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m. at the Pensacola Little Theatre.
As part of the ongoing Get Started business series, local entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges consisting of successful entrepreneurs and distinguished experts such as Quint Studer and Peter Nowak. All contestants and event attendees will receive valuable advice from the judges at the conclusion of each pitch.
Get Started is teaming with the 2016 EntreCon event to offer outstanding advice and guidance to local business owners. Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with potential investors while entering them into the alumni network of former Get Started competitors and winners. Pitches take place in front of a live audience, providing entrepreneurs additional exposure for their business idea.
Local entrepreneurs interested in competing in Get Started can sign up at coxblue.com/getstartedpensacola, where they must provide a 250-word description of the idea or business plan to be pitched. Applications will close Friday, Oct. 7. Entrants will be notified by October 12, 2016 if they have been selected as a finalist. The five finalists will receive coaching sessions courtesy of the Small Business Development Center at the University of West Florida in advance of the competition to prepare.
In 2015, Get Started held more than 18 pitch events across the country and awarded more than $250,000 in cash and prizes to local entrepreneurs.