Pitch Your Green Business Idea to the Potomac Piranhas, a la 'Shark Tank'

A group called the Potomac Piranhas™ are using the model of ABC’s popular “Shark Tank” program to accelerate improving the Potomac River watershed.

The two-day program coming up Friday, Jan. 30 and Saturday, Jan. 31 includes “The Pitch”—a competition in which entrepreneurs and businesspeople will pitch innovations and business models to a diverse panel of six business experts.

The innovators will include businesses that demonstrate a “triple bottom line benefit” to People, Planet and Profit, the group explained in a news release. The event will also include panel discussions on the issues of innovation, capital and entrepreneurship.

Here’s the scoop:

WHEN and WHERE

• Welcome Reception, Friday, Jan. 30, 6– 8 p.m., U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 401 Dulany St., in Alexandria
• Potomac Piranhas™ Pitch, Saturday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 401 Dulany St., in Alexandria

WHO: Piranha Panel

• Nicholas Jordan, Owner and President, Capitol Bridge Services
• Eddie Graves, CEO, Chrome Consulting
• Rob Kaufman, President, PMA Properties
• David Goodenow, CEO, Dragonfly Landing
• Barbara Vrancik, Founder and CEO, Vrancik Associates Ltd.
• Glen Hellman, Chief Revenue Officer, 10Pearls

Read about each member of the panel here. Moderating ”The Pitch” will be Hedrick Belin, president of Potomac Conservancy.

Presenters on Saturday include:

• Hedrick Belin, President, Potomac Conservancy
• Bob Bridges, Director of Sales, Eagle Bay Stormwater Systems and SWMPave
• Seth Brown, PE, Stormwater Program and Policy Director, Water Environment Federation
• Dave Feldman, CEO, Livability Project
• Mark Frieden, Director, Business Development, NeoNiche Strategies
• Doug Harrison, COO, LandFAX
• Mo Hasan, Earthopia
• Brady Hoak, GIS Solutions Engineer, Esri
• Bill Howard, Executive VP and Strategic Advisor, CDM Smith
• Jon Rimanelli, CEO, Detroit Aircraft
• Don Rissmeyer, PE, Civil Engineer, A. Morton Thomas and Associates
• Joe Sexton, Senior Scientist, Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland

For more information regarding event details, registration and fees, click here.

Sponsors of the event include AMT Consulting Engineers, Alexandria Emerging Technology Center, Livability Project, EmeraldPlanet and MOM’s Organic Market.

About Potomac Piranhas™

Potomac Piranhas™ is a non-profit organization committed to cleaning up the Potomac River watershed by rapidly developing innovative and practical ideas, and matching them with the capital necessary to deploy them effectively. Potomac Piranhas™ seeks to bring together the business and environmental communities, instead of pitting them against one another, delivering real, measurable results that respect the bottom line.