Miller Lite Tap the Future is back again and is in search of some amazing people with great business ideas. Teams of entrepreneurs eager to grow their business can compete for a chance to win part of a $300,000 prize pool and receive expert advice from Daymond John of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Deadline to apply is April 6, 2014.
Participants can expect to compete in a three-phase contest:
1. Now through April 6, 2014, entrepreneurs 21 and older can apply by submitting their business information here.
2.Twenty-five semi-finalists will be selected to compete in live pitch events in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia starting June 3. John and a panel of expert judges will select one business in each city to win $20,000 and advance to the national finals.
3. The five finalists will present before a national panel of judges in Chicago in August. One team will win the $200,000 grand prize.
Miller Lite Tap the Future’s launch in 2013 garnered more than 2,000 entries, with a business founded by Notre Dame Alums Sean O’Brien and Evan Wray taking the grand prize. Together they founded TextPride, a company that makes stickers and emojis that mobile messaging apps can include as a part of their services.
Steve Canal, Manager of Community Commerce and Partnerships for MillerCoors, says,“Miller Lite brings friends together for great times, which, for many of our consumers, includes coming together to build a business. Miller Lite Tap the Future offers teams of entrepreneurs the chance to interact with top business experts and provides the tools and funds to help bring great ideas to life.”
Semi-finalists will have the opportunity to meet several business experts who will serve as judges at the live pitch events. Sitting alongside John will be Aaron Firestein and Raaja Nemani, cofounders of BucketFeet, which produces shoes designed by artists from around the world; Lance Rios, founder of the Hispanic communication platform Being Latino; Roberto Torres, Luis Montanez and Chris Findeisen, creators of the made-in-America apparel brand Black & Denim; Sulaiman Sanni and Ben Lamson, creators of the crowdfunding website WeDidIt; and Neal Gottlieb and Sadie Ash Boggs, creators of the organic ice cream company Three Twins Ice Cream.
To make it even more exciting, this year Miller Lite Tap the Future has also partnered with South by Southwest (SXSW), an annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival taking place March 6-12 in Austin, Texas, and the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurship Conference, a premier business conference and networking event taking place May 14-17 in Columbus, Ohio. Each conference will provide entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply for the program, win free mentoring sessions with business experts and RSVP for the Live Pitch Events.
Check out a slideshow from last year’s event covered by AZTB by clicking here.
Think you’ve got what it takes? Learn more here.