Venture Connectors has chosen six semifinalists to compete in the preliminary round of its 12th annual Venture Sharks business competition.
The field will be narrowed to a few finalists on Tuesday, Sept. 21, who will compete in front of a panel of savvy investor "sharks" fishing for the next great deal at Venture Connectors’ regular monthly lunch on Wednesday, Oct. 6. Both events will be held at TEN20 Craft Brewery, 1020 E. Washington St.
In both rounds of competition, presenters will be allowed a few minutes to describe their idea to the judges, who then will fire off questions to the presenters in the style of the television show, "Shark Tank," according to a news release.
One entrepreneur will receive a prize package designed to help them take their idea to market. In addition to a $5,000 cash award, the prize package will include one-on-one mentoring from established entrepreneurs and advisors.
The semifinalists include:
- Athelo Health, founded by Jessica Thurmond, is a B2B SaaS-based mobile application aimed at improving quality of life outcomes for patients with cancer while decreasing costs of service.
- GTM Technologies LLC, founded by Jay Smith, is the developer of Bare Trace, a B2B service designed to help companies of any size regain customer and employee confidence after a security breach or significant impact event.
- Grouper, founded by Chris Wiedmar, is a social messaging platform that connects users and creators based on their interests, hobbies and passions.
- HBCU Tour, founded by Nasir Jones, is a subscription-based vendor services platform for current and former students of historically black colleges and universities.
- Statcode, founded by Caryle Blondell, is a maker of solutions designed to bridge the data gap between major companies and medium to small companies by making data science affordable for everyone.
- USS Veteran Services Co., founded by Cliff Johns, is the developer of world’s first Smart Ladder, built with LED lights and sensors for better safety.
Doors open for the Venture Sharks prelims on Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. The event, presented by Amplify Louisville and KY Innovation, is free and open to the public.
The Oct. 6 finals will be held from noon-1 p.m. There is no cost for Venture Connectors members and $40 for guests. Registration is required for both events, and you can sign up here.
Venture Sharks is sponsored by Amplify Louisville, the Community Foundation of Louisville, PNC Bank, Fleur de Lis Communications and Frost Brown Todd. Sponsorship opportunities for the 2021 Venture Sharks competition still are available.
