WELLSBURG — Various men and women or groups with concepts for new enterprise ventures will vie for numerous thousands of dollars to assistance them make their ambitions a reality in a contest to be held Tuesday at Brooke Higher College.

The Ohio Valley Small business Alliance Corp. will hold its very first Small business Pitch Contest at five:30 p.m. in the school’s auditorium.

Admission is free of charge for the occasion, which OVBAC member David Klick expects to be really exciting.

“We have a lot of people today who have place a lot of time and believed into their projects,” mentioned Klick, noting the seven competitors from Brooke and Hancock counties with ambitions for a wide variety of enterprises.

Klick is co-chairing the occasion with Dr. Heather Stone and Joan Simonetti.

He is amongst lots of alliance members with previous ties to the Wellsburg Chamber of Commerce and the former Brooke County Financial Improvement Authority, which had teamed for numerous years to hold enterprise pitch contests.

“This year I’d say we have the very best applicants because I’ve been involved with the pitch. And it is the greatest pot for the winners,” he mentioned.

Klick mentioned thanks to the generosity of regional organizations and other organizations, the group will divide $eight,000 amongst the two winners, with the biggest quantity going to the 1 that locations very first.

He noted the prize funds will be disbursed as the two enterprise ideas are created.

Klick mentioned the contest is related in format to television’s “Shark Tank,” with the contestants provided a restricted time to provide their proposals to a panel of 5 judges.

The 5 are: Luke Diserio, chief executive officer of American Muscle Docks and Fabrication Kelly Jeffers, winner of the final enterprise pitch Ingrid Loy, a promoting instructor at West Liberty University Jay McLaughlin, vice president of accounting and finance at Wheeling-Nippon Steel and Weirton lawyer Michael Simon.

Every of the contestants has been instructed to prepare a presentation that consists of estimated fees for their endeavor, their targeted industry and their vision for the enterprise in two to 5 years.

“We have a lot of people today who have place a lot of time and believed into their projects,” mentioned Klick.

To assistance the contestants prepare, the Ohio Valley Small business Alliance has invited them to the West Virginia Compact Small business Improvement Center’s Inspiring You series of seminars and referring them to other sources.

Held at the Brooke County Public Library, the free of charge seminars supply guidance to aspiring and current enterprise owners in subjects ranging from establishing a enterprise strategy to promoting their goods and solutions to possible clients to understanding economic statements.

In addition to the event’s sponsors, Klick expressed thanks to the chambers of commerce of Weirton, Follansbee and Wellsburg, which also have supplied help and Brooke County college officials for generating the auditorium offered for the group.

He mentioned the group hopes to spur financial development all through the Northern Panhandle and sees events like the contest as a way to help that.

“We consider this could truly be sufficient to move the needle for somebody,” mentioned Klick.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)

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