Ten finalists have been selected to pitch their business ideas at The Company Lab’s annual ‘Will This Float?’ event. The presenters will compete for prizes before a panel of three judges and an audience of community members, who will cast votes to determine winners in three categories – Best Idea Overall, Best Music/Entertainment Idea and Best General Business Idea.
The event will take place Thursday from 6-10 p.m. at the Revelry Room. Admission is $7 in advance or $10 at the door. Click here to reserve a ticket.
Of the 10 finalists, six will present business ideas focused on music and entertainment, the theme of this year’s ‘Will This Float?’ competition. The remaining four will pitch entrepreneurial ideas that fall within the general business category.
The winners of the awards for Best Music/Entertainment Idea and Best General Business Idea will each receive a $250 cash prize and 10 hours of free business services from both Chambliss Startup Group and Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough.
The recipient of the award for Best Idea Overall will earn a $1,000 cash prize and a $500 voucher from Forum Sherpas, as well as 10 hours of free business services from Chambliss Startup Group and Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough. In addition, the two most outstanding Music/Entertainment entrepreneurs will receive exclusive access to the music industry experts SoundCorps features at its quarterly professional development events.
At the event, each finalist gets three minutes to pitch his or her startup idea before a panel of judges and an audience of local startup leaders, general attendees and potential mentors and business partners. A brief Q&A session with judges will follow each presentation. Audience members will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite ideas at the end of the event, with their collective feedback weighing in at 25 percent of the final decision. Judges will vet candidates according to a set of five assessment criteria.
About the Finalists – Music/Entertainment Category
RadAR is an augmented reality platform that helps venues promote their music and allows users to find new artists and upcoming concerts. Presenter: Bryce Hooper
River City Music Management is a music management and artist development agency that helps artists allocate their financial resources to improve their work and brand value. Presenter: Heidi Foster
Southside Strings is a musical instrument maker that creates high quality instruments designed with 3D modeling and CNC woodworking technologies. Presenter: David Dunn
StoneOnAir is a new FM/multi-media platform radio show that focuses on the arts, music and entertainment in Chattanooga. Presenter: Bryan Stone
undaground is a 24/7 artist-powered streaming application that bridges the gap between the music scene and the community through live and on-demand shows. Presenter: Dave Castaneda
XCeed Events is an event production company that works to amplify the presence of minority-based arts in the Chattanooga community. Presenter: Xavier Cotto
About the Finalists – General Business Category
The CPR Lifewrap is a durable, plastic CPR support product that provides simple CPR instructions for people with little or no CPR training. Presenter: Felicia Jackson
Get Seated is a mobile app that lists participating restaurant wait times for young professionals. Presenter: Andrew Byrum
TrailDrops is an outdoor nutrition company that provides serious trail hikers with customized meal packages for food resupply on long-distance backpacking trips. Presenter: Meg Brasel
Weekly Fig is a local online farmers market that specializes in home delivery and meal planning, enabling customers to save time on grocery shopping and researching recipes. Presenter: Michele Reneau