By Stephen Smoot
Everyone gets them. Sometimes they come on a long road trip while others wake people up in the middle of the night.
Still others come to them by observation and analysis, as when Ray Kroc, traveling salesman, stopped for lunch at a burger bar and walked away with the vision of efficiency meeting quality that became McDonalds.
For those in Harrison County who have conjured ideas of improving a process, creating a new product, or offering a service and need help making them reality, the Chamber of Commerce offers a tremendous opportunity. For the second year in a row, the organization and a team of sponsors and judges have put together “The Tank Entrepreneurial Contest.”
The Harrison County Chamber of Commerce bases the competition on the long-running television series “Shark Tank.” On this program, entrepreneurs who have taken the first steps in establishing a business offering a unique product or service can make their pitch to a panel of potential investors. One or more investors may choose to back the entrepreneur with investment and mentoring help.
The investors also obtain some sort of consideration for their money, most often purchasing a percentage of the business.
Some ideas and pitches earn both praise and support, with investors battling to join the business. Others receive encouragement to work on the idea and bring it back. More than a few get encouraged to “take this idea behind the barn and shoot it.”
Harrison County’s version has a slightly different format. A panel of judges will hear the pitches and select a winner. The winner receives $10,000, plus significant mentoring assistance in building their business, mainly in legal, accounting, marketing, and human resources areas.
Judges for this year’s event include LaReta J. Lowther – Senior Vice President & Director – Community Development / CRA WesBanco Bank Inc., Scott Werdebaugh
Owner – Integrity Financial Planning, and Co-owner and Managing Partner – Vast Holdings, LLC, April Kaull – Executive Director of Communications for University Relations – West Virginia University, Mitch Carmichael – Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, and Ben Queen Owner – Ben Queen Photography and West Virginia State Senator.
Serving as Master of Ceremonies will be Mike Queen, who currently serves as Deputy, Chief of Staff and Director of Communications for the Office of West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner.
Applicants have until July 31 to register, which can be done on the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce website. The competition will take place on Oct 2 from 6 to 8 PM in front of a live audience at the Robinson Grand Theater.
Judges look for feasibility, profitability, and entrepreneur ability, but also the intangibles. As “Shark Tank’s” Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary states. “When you’re an investor, you can look at the quantitative and qualitative elements of an investment, but there’s a third aspect: What you feel in your gut.”