PGCC’s Veteran Shark Tank is Prince George’s Community College’s annual business pitch competition. Entrepreneurs who are active duty, reservists, national guard, and veterans as well as dependents of any of the aforementioned individuals living in the Prince George's County Maryland and the greater DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) areas are eligible to apply.
Veterans and entrepreneurial dependents of veterans and service members outside of the DMV area may apply as well; however, priority is given to DMV area applicants.
This third annual pitch competition is made possible because of the generosity of our partner United Way. PGCC’s Veteran Services’ focus is to support veterans academically, professionally, financially, and personally. Our mission is to continue supporting those who have selflessly served and protected us.
Click the link to get to know more about 2022's winners: 2022 Veteran Shark Tank winners
THE COMPETITION PROCESS
The PGCC Veteran Shark Tank is a three-phase competition.
Phase I – Application Submission
Applications open Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 3:00 pm EDT and close Friday, March 31st, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST.
Ten semi-finalists will be contacted on Friday, April 5th, 2024 by 2pm EST.
Semi Finalists will participate in a virtual pitch round on Wednesday April 10th, 2024. This will consist of a 5 minute pitch and a 3 minute Q&A round.
5 finalists will be selected to move forward to the final round to pitch live.
Phase II – Business Pitch Bootcamp and semi-final round
The top 5 applicants will be selected to participate in our Business Pitch Bootcamp. Don’t worry if this is your first time. The goal of this phase is to help prepare you to pitch your business in front of a panel of judges.
The Business Pitch Bootcamp will be virtual and will take place on Monday April 15th, 2024 at 12pm EDT.
Phase III – PGCC’s Veteran Shark Tank Live Pitch Event
Final round live (on campus) pitch competition date: Friday April 26th, 2024 at 11am EDT
Each of the 5 finalists will be given 5 minutes to conduct their pitch. This will be followed by 8 minutes of questions and answers from the judges.