PORTLAND, Maine — Con Fullam has put out an open call for tinkerers, inventors and entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to a primetime audience.
Fullam’s the showrunner for Greenlight Maine, a business pitch contest offering a $100,000 grand prize. But unlike other pitch shows, he said, the road to those riches on Greenlight Maine isn’t paved with humiliation.
“Nobody got eviscerated,” Fullam said of the show’s first season, which is making its way toward a finale this summer. “That was not the point, and nobody walked away feeling mad. They all walked away with something that they didn’t have before.”
While the first season rolls on toward the final live pitch contest for the grand prize, Fullam said contestants have gotten other benefits already, including a collective $1.2 million in investments in companies discovered through the show.
“There are a couple of companies on the brink of great success here,” Fullam said.
Fullam said some companies also have stayed in touch with members of the expert panels, getting marketing or other advice as they work on their business.
The first season started with 26 different contestants, who made on-air pitches to a panel of business leaders. That panel gives feedback and eventually winnows down the field, getting to future business pitch rounds and mentoring leading to a live finale with three contestants.
For the second season, he said, he’s hoping to get people to bring some of those ideas out of the basement or beyond just weekends and days off.
There’s no cost to apply or participate in the show, but participants must be available for an initial pitch event Saturday, June 25, in Portland, as part of Maine Startup and Create Week. Fullam also suggested that businesses at least be at the stage of having a prototype of their product to either show or discuss.
For three- to five-minute video applications due April 30, Fullam said he has some other tips to help submitters stand out:
— Make it clear, covering “what it is, what it does, why you’ve got to have it and why the world has to have it,” Fullam said, adding that the presentation should avoid jargon and be accessible without specific technical knowledge.
— Describe the existing market for that product. “You want to be somewhat certain that your great idea hasn’t already been great,” Fullam said.
— Don’t worry about flashy visuals. Unless the product or idea relies on good-looking graphics, Fullam said video shot on a smartphone will do. “If I had to spend some time and concentrate on something it’s making that content pop and making it incredibly clear,” Fullam said.
— Submit earlier rather than later. The latest contest deadline is April 30, with selections of up to 52 quarter-finalists on June 1.
According to the show’s website, the pitches will be judged on four categories: feasibility, scalability, innovation and presentation clarity. Full rules and submission guidelines are at greenlightmaine.com.
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