Yesterday, roughly 100 entrepreneurs registered at an open call at Urban Co-Lab in Austin for the eighth season of ABC reality show Shark Tank. The crowd was a mix of locals and SXSW attendees hoping for a shot to make the ultimate high profile pitch for their startups.
The event was part of an eight-city tour to find more diverse entrepreneurs and ideas for the show. The tour is the result of a partnership between show producer Mark Burnett and Values Partnerships, an activist group for faith-based and ethnic community initiatives.
“Austin is one of America’s best cities for entrepreneurship,” said Brandon Andrews, a spokesman for Values Partnerships. “We hope to see some of them on season eight.”
Andrews said that at each event, Values Partnerships provides pitch prep, entrepreneurship resources and access to capital discussions.
“We ensure every entrepreneur that pitches at our events leaves better than they came,” he said.
To that end, Values Partnerships joined the San Francisco-based Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to develop a new pitch toolkit to help entrepreneurs perfect their pitches in high-pressure situations.
Representatives from the city’s small business department and the governor’s office also attended.
Andrews declined to disclose whether anyone advanced at the open call, citing restrictions on the casting process.
The tour continues in Dallas tomorrow.
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