SBA’s Patriot Pitch Competition
SBA JUST shared the details for SBA’s Patriot Pitch Competition. The deadline for entries at the SBA District Level is JUNE 10.
One winner will be selected from Tennessee to move forward to the Regional Competition. After three rounds the top 5 contestants will compete at the National Level for a prize pool worth $1 Million funded by Clover.
Please start sharing with Tennessee businesses you feel may be good candidates. The eligibility requirements are pasted in below and are on the website:
Freedom 250 – Small Business Administration (Note the “+” and “-“ signs to expand details in the light grey bars). The website includes a list of things that a winning entry must include (checklist).
Eligibility
The competition is open to:
- U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years of age at the time of submission (or teams of such individuals)
- Private entities or teams that meet SBA’s definition of a small business
- Individuals submitting on behalf of corporations, nonprofits, or other organizations or groups of individuals (such as an academic class or other team) must meet the eligibility requirements for individual contestants.
- An individual cannot belong to more than one team submitting an entry in this competition.
Your business must:
- Have a minimum of 3 years in business operation
- Have a gross revenue production of at least $100,000 annually
- Have benefited from one or more of the following SBA capital products:
- 7(a) loans (including Paycheck Protection Program loans)
- 504 loans
- Microloan Intermediary loans
- SBIR / STTR funded entities
- SBIC financed small business concerns
- Note: participants who received COVID-19 EIDL loans or SBA Disaster loans are not eligible based on those loans but may be eligible if they received the capital products listed above.
- Be current and in good standing on any federal obligations. Businesses that have, at any time, defaulted on a federal loan or federally-guaranteed financing that has resulted in the federal government or any of its agencies or departments sustaining a loss in any of its programs and businesses owned or controlled a person who previously owned, operated, or controlled a business which defaulted on a federal loan or guaranteed financing and caused the federal government or any of its agencies or departments to sustain a loss in any of its programs are ineligible to apply for the competition. For purposes of the competition, a compromise agreement as described at 31 C.F.R. 3711 shall also be considered a loss.
- Be headquartered and operated in the United States and/or its territories
- Be 100% owned by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents
- Actively drive innovation in your sector, leveraging new technologies or strategies to modernize operations or strengthen your competitive edge
Finalists must be available to travel for the national pitch competition, which will occur on one day between September 8th – 18th (to be finalized at a later time), at their own expense.
Eligible participants must agree to assume risks of personal injury/property damage arising from their participation in the competition and waive such claims against the government or competition judges to enter the competition.
Additional eligibility requirements
The competition is not open to:
- SBA employees and contractors
- Federal entities
- Non-SBA federal employees acting within the scope of their employment
- Individuals or organizations that are currently suspended or debarred by the federal government