5 Finalists Vie For $10,000 in Made In FredVA Startup Competition

The ABC show “Shark Tank” pits aspiring business people against successful entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas in hopes of gaining investment. Wednesday, Nov. 19, five would-be business owners from Fredericksburg will get that experience when they pitch ideas to four Fredericksburg area business owners in a competition following the popular show’s style.

The prize is $10,000 toward business startup expenses.

This is the second annual Made in FredVA competition, run by The Next Generation of Business Leaders - an affiliate of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The five finalists in the Made In FredVA startup competition were announced Oct. 23. They will pitch their ideas at a public event Wednesday, Nov. 19 at the Old Silk Mill in Fredericksburg. In addition to the $10,000 grand prize is a $500 people’s choice cash award.

“We were really impressed with the creativity and diversity of this year’s finalists,” said Carter

Fitch, who chairs the NextGen Board of Directors. “It should be a great event.”

The five finalists and their ideas are:

● Plants Map, Bill Blevins. Will help gardening enthusiasts organize and share their collections online, and purchase interactive markers to help observers learn about the plants.

● Fraser Wood Elements, David Fraser. This existing store at 820 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg plans an expansion that will offer woodworking classes and shop space that will allow artisans to create products to be sold at the store.

● Living Soil, Sarah Perry. Will offer bags of fresh, living compost produced at Downtown Greens in Fredericksburg.

● BYOB Garage, Dave Ellis. This will be a bricks-and-mortar location where motorcycle enthusiasts can get the skills and equipment they need to fix and improve their motorcycles.

● Eternity Blooms, Annie Tremper. This will be a business that creates seed balls made of flower seeds, soil and ashes of loved ones to create a beautiful planted tribute.

photo via shutterstock