Startup Junkie and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals minor league baseball club will team this summer to host Startup Night at Arvest Ballpark. The event will take place on August 24, during the Naturals’ evening game against the Springfield Cardinals.
This summer, local startups and small businesses will have the opportunity to pitch their products or services via video submission. The top three contestants selected by a panel of judges will have their pitches broadcast to all the fans in attendance during the baseball game. The fans will text to vote for their favorite pitch, and the top vote-getter will take home a check for $1,000.
“The opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their idea during a live baseball game will provide great exposure to new ideas and hopefully inspire new businesses to be created from the event,” Startup Junkie Executive Director Caleb Talley said. “We’re combining innovation with our nation’s past time in what I know will be an evening of fun for everyone involved.”
The three contestants will be chosen in an IdeaFame Online Pitch competition. Startup Junkie will be accepting these 60-second video submissions from June 20 to July 29. The three finalists chosen will have the opportunity to re-record a 30-second clip of their pitch, which will be broadcast during the game.
The three finalists will also have the opportunity to attend the game and join the Startup Junkie team in the concourse of Arvest Ballpark, where they can pitch their ideas to fans in person throughout the game.
Fans in attendance will be able to visit with members of the Startup Junkie team and learn more about the organization’s mission and even schedule appointments for free consulting. The 2022 Fuel Accelerator cohort will also be in attendance.
“Holding an IdeaFame Live pitch competition during a professional baseball game potentially allows us to introduce a new audience to our region’s incredible entrepreneurial community,” Talley said. “It also gives us the opportunity the show an international cohort of startup founders just how fun living and working in Northwest Arkansas can be.”
To purchase tickets to Startup Night at the ballpark, visit the Northwest Arkansas Naturals website.
Anyone interested in competing can submit their video via YouTube to caleb@startupjunkie.org beginning June 20.
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About Startup Junkie Foundation: Startup Junkie is a team of passionate people working every day to help entrepreneurs win and communities thrive. We exist to educate, inspire, and support entrepreneurs and innovators through no-cost, one-on-one consulting; events, workshops, and programs; and access to capital and talent.
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