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| Region’s Top Entrepreneurs Square Off For $10k Grand Prize In Front Of Celebrity Judges |
Press Release
10/10/2012
On October 18th, the Merrimack Valley Sandbox will be holding its Winners Showdown Pitch Contest at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Selected winners from the previous four Sandbox Pitch Contests will square off for a grand prize of $10K. Finalist ideas include shoes with a built-in mobile device charger, organic cough drops made from Cayenne pepper, and a service for video and social media entrepreneurs.
During the contest, finalists will be judged by a celebrity panel that includes:
• Jack Clancy – CEO, Enterprise Bank
• Desh Deshpande – World Renowned Entrepreneur (A123 Systems, Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks) & Co-Chairman of President Obama’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Tom First – Co-Founder, Nantucket Nectars
• Ira Jackson – Former Dean and Professor, Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (CA)
• Bill O’Donnell – Chief Architect, Kayak
• Julia Silverio – Founder, Julia’s Travel and Silverio Insurance
Marty Meehan, the Chancellor of UMass Lowell, will be giving a special introduction at the beginning of the program.
There will be Fan-Favorite Voting where audience members will have the opportunity to text in their votes for their favorite entrepreneur to advance to the final round.
"I know Lowell and Lawrence are full of creative and clever people - so I'm really looking forward to hearing the region's top entrepreneurial ideas," says Desh Deshpande, Founder of Cascade Communications and Sycamore Networks.
"The Videographer Startup Boost would have remained an idea without the Sandbox pitch contest,†says Jessica Wilson, who won 1st Place at the Education, Environment, and Human Services Ideas Pitch Contest. “If we win the $10K on October 18th, the possibilities for expanding this program are huge."
This is a community wide initiative supporting entrepreneurship. More than 30 partner organizations and institutions are participating including the City of Lawrence, the City of Lowell, the Merrimack Valley YMCA, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
The initiative aims to give entrepreneurs a greater chance at success through pitch contests, workshops, and intensive programs. This year, the Merrimack Valley Sandbox held a series of five pitch contests. So far, there have been over 150 entrepreneur applications, over 400 people in attendance, and over $8,000 in cash prizes given out.
Starting in December, the Merrimack Valley Sandbox will be hosting a 12-week Accelerator for start-ups in the Merrimack Valley. This program will have mentors, workshops, and spaces for entrepreneurs to work in. It will all lead to a business-plan competition with significant cash prizes.
Event Details:
Thursday, October 18, 2012
6:00pm-8:30pm
UMass Lowell-Cumnock Hall
One University Avenue
Lowell, MA 01854
For more information, please visit: MVSandbox.org
About the Merrimack Valley Sandbox:
The Merrimack Valley Sandbox is an initiative that strengthens the ecosystem in Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts around entrepreneurship and leadership.
MVSandbox.org
About the Deshpande Foundation:
Gururaj (Desh) and Jaishree Deshpande have encouraged the use of entrepreneurship and innovation as catalysts for sustainable change in the United States, India and Canada since 1996. The Foundation supports organizations that strengthen local ecosystems, build leaders and entrepreneurs and catalyze innovative thinking, to accelerate creation of sustainable, scalable enterprises that have significant social or market impact.
DeshpandeFoundation.org
About UMass Lowell:
UMass Lowell is a comprehensive, national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 15,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, engineering, education, fine arts, health and environment, humanities, liberal arts, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers.
UML.edu
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