ROGERS -- Two local entrepreneurs won $1,000 each after a minute of their time Tuesday.
Stacy Tan of Lynxus and Tony Corbett of Trec-Solar were among 18 participants of the Gone in 60 Seconds elevator pitch competition held during the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce's annual NWA Business Expo at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.
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"It's all about your wits, your concept and how well you deliver it," said Jeff Amerine, CEO of Startup Junkie Consulting, organizer of the competition also called G60. Amerine is also director of University of Arkansas Technology Ventures and an adviser for Innovate Arkansas, a program that encourages technology-based innovations and job creation in the state.
An elevator pitch is a concise business overview given in a maximum of 60 seconds.
Ric Clifford, chairman of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce's board, called the competition a cross between "American Idol" and "Shark Tank," referring to the singing competition and the business investment television shows.
Each participant walked on stage in front of a crowd of about 200 people and stated his name and business venture before his time started. A timer counting down from 60 ran on a screen behind the presenters, and Amerine would stop a presenter in midsentence if he hadn't wrapped up in the allotted time.
Audience members voted for their favorite pitch and a panel of three judges from local start-ups selected their favorite. Each winner received $1,000.
Tan won the audience vote and Corbett got the judge's nod.
"We had everything from an idea to investment-ready ventures," Brett Amerine, Startup Junkie director of operations and Jeff Amerine's son, said of Tuesday's competitors. A couple of pitches involved nonprofit organizations and even a business looking to expand. "It's open to all stages."
Tan is part of a trio of entrepreneurs running Fayetteville-based Lynxus. She said the business is a sideline venture for the group; she works for a Walmart vendor.
Lynxus created a social news smartphone application that allows users to share and request pictures and videos in real time. She said a beta version of the app will launch by the end of August.
Tuesday was the second time Tan participated in a pitch competition and said the process has been helpful.
"It makes you think on your feet and helps you focus your message," she said.
The prize money will go toward engineering costs, Tan said.
Corbett said he spent the past seven years developing his water purification system in his business, Trec-Solar. He also plans to start a nonprofit, Water for Life, as part of his business model. He said his goal is to provide safe drinking water to places like Africa.
He plans to sink the $1,000 he won from the judge's prize back into the business. He said he hasn't sought outside investors and spent about $200,000 of his money on the project.
Corbett is a logistics consultant and is retired from Walmart.
"I saw unbelievable poverty when I traveled the world and I wanted to do something about it," he said.
The systems are made in California, but Corbett said he hopes to one day have all manufacturing done in Northwest Arkansas.
Brett Amerine said Startup Junkie funds the prize money, but would like to get corporate sponsors for the G60 program.
"We believe 100 percent in what we are doing," he said. "We are ensuring the best talent stays in the region and that will give us a competitive advantage."
This is the third year the chamber hosted a G60 contest as part of its business expo, but this year was the first time it was held over the lunch hour, said Steve Cox, vice president of economic development at the chamber. The contest was held at day's end in past years, and Cox said the earlier time slot helped draw more participation.
Cox said he expected about 2,000 people to walk through the expo's 150 booths set up by area businesses. The daylong event also featured a handful of technology seminars.
NW News on 08/13/2014