Young entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to fight for investments of $25,000 or more at the Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week’s high-stakes pitch competition Nov. 15.
The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, SeNSE and Louisiana Technology Park are hosting the Whitney Bank-sponsored competition. It will resemble the format of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” a show featuring a panel of entrepreneurs and business executives who consider pitches from entrepreneurs seeking investments.
The application deadline for the competition is Friday, and although applicants don’t have to be currently located in Louisiana, they must be willing to relocate to the state if chosen to receive an investment.
“We’re trying to grow the entrepreneur environment in South Louisiana,” said Sean Simone, SeNSE chairman.
Simone said applicants must have a complete business plan and executive summary, which is basically a condensed business plan that can be quickly analyzed. The applicants will be reduced to five finalists, who will have to give an in-depth explanation of their business plan at the pitch event.
Each finalist will take the stage, introducing his or her business and explaining how much money they’re seeking and how an investment will be used. The investors will then decide how much money, if any, will be appropriated to which companies.
Simone stressed that an investment is not guaranteed to any company pitching at the event, but the investors are attending with intentions to invest if the right company is presented. He added that only companies that have recently formed or are attempting to get started are being considered for the competition. Already-existing businesses looking for “extra cash” will be turned away, Simone said.
November’s pitch night is the 15th edition over the past three years, but it is special because it’s the first competition in which potential investments are available, Simone said. He said SeNSE partnered directly with the Business Report for the first time this year, utilizing its resources network to find investors willing to contribute a significant amount into these new companies.
“This is the first pitch night where they’re actually investing money at the event.” Simone said. “This is something we’ve thought about for a while, and because this is during Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week, we thought it’d be perfect timing. It’s one of the last events of the week, so it’s a good event to culminate the week.”
The five investors, all of which began their ventures in the region, are Todd Graves, founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers; Mike Wampold, founder and owner of Wampold Companies; Lane Grigsby, founder and chairman of the board of Cajun Industries; Joe Agresti, president and co-owner of Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge; and Kevin Couhig, founder and CEO of Source Capital.
“Starting a business was harder than I ever imagined,” Graves said in an email. “When I was raising money to start my chicken finger restaurant, every bank in town told me no. Because of the challenges I faced, entrepreneurism and business development is a key area of Cane’s community involvement.”
As an investor, Graves said he will be looking for “innovative, solid business plans” and an entrepreneur who will fanatically pursue his or her vision.
Simone said a competition like this is important for Baton Rouge, the state and young entrepreneurs for four reasons: awareness, inspiration, education and networking.
Awareness and inspiration go hand-in-hand. The pitch-night shows people that entrepreneurship is happening in their own backyard, and they could be involved, Simone said. It also shows these same people that they could also be accomplishing what these young entrepreneurs are attempting.
Simone said the event also provides insight to people who want to be entrepreneurs but don’t know how to get started. It introduces potential entrepreneurs to people who can make their visions materialize, he said.
“When they come to this type of event, they see it first-hand and see how to do a money pitch, how to dress, how to speak — all these different things,” Simone said. “Also, when you come to an event like this, you meet the right people to make your idea happen.”
Graves said business development is important for Baton Rouge. The city is evolving into a “very entrepreneur-friendly” place, which will lead to greater things for the community, he said.
“This event could be a life-changing tipping point for an entrepreneur,” he said.
