Samuel Adams American Dream Gets Wild Card

There's still time for one more round. Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream lives on with a newly announced "wild card" competition. The winner of this round will join four regional winners in a final round later this year in the contest dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. The wild card round is being hosted by Entrepreneur.com. The final round will be held in New York City in December. Here's the release:

BOSTON, July 7, 2015 -- To continue to expand its coaching and mentoring program to more small businesses across the country, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream announced today a partnership with Entrepreneur Media to host the second annual Pitch Room Wild Card Competition. The virtual competition, which kicks off July 7th, will be hosted on Entrepreneur.com, and allow small business owners to submit a product sales pitch for a chance to participate in the in-person final round and pitch to a panel of expert judges and retail buyers.

The Wild Card is part of the larger Pitch Room Competition, which consists of regional events around the country.  Small business owners pitch their products to a panel of expert judges and retail buyers in hopes of perfecting their sales pitch and advancing to the final round.  The business owner ultimately chosen will be rewarded with a $10,000 business grant and extended mentoring from Samuel Adams.  This competition is one piece of Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, the brewer's philanthropy program that supports small business owners from coast to coast.

How it Works

To enter the Wild Card portion of the Competition, entrepreneurs with a food or beverage product, including craft brewers, are invited to upload a two-minute video of their best sales pitch tohttp://entm.ag/samadamspitch2015  from July 7th – July 30th. A panel of experts from Samuel Adams andEntrepreneur will judge the videos based on criteria including pitch quality, creativity, product viability, and passion.

The top five best video submissions, selected by the panel, will then be posted on Entrepreneur.com, where the general public will be invited to vote for their favorite from August 16th – September 7th. The small business owner who receives the most votes for his/her sales pitch will be named the Wild Card winner and receive a trip for two to participate in the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room finals this December in New York City.

"Samuel Adams and Entrepreneur share a common love of and commitment to innovation. Last year, we saw an impressive group of entrepreneurs putting their hearts and souls into their products and businesses," commented Ray Hennessey, Entrepreneur.com editorial director. "We look forward to being able to foster the latest group of entrepreneurs through this great program."

Competition Finals

The Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room finals will bring together the Wild Card winner and the winners from four regional competitions in Chicago, San Diego, Boston and New York. Each participant will give their best two-minute sales pitch to a panel of expert judges, including national retail buyers, the Editorial Director of Entrepreneur.com, and Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch. The judges will then provide constructive feedback for each small business owner before choosing the best pitch. The ultimate winner of the 2015 Pitch Room is awarded a $10,000 business grant and extended mentoring from Samuel Adams.

"An impactful sales pitch will, time and time again, be the difference between getting a customer to say 'yes' versus a 'thanks, but no thanks,'" said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams.  "I started out by bringing my craft beer from bar to bar, and sampling bartenders and drinkers. More often than not I only had two minutes or less to talk to them about why my Boston Lager was better than what was available. We look forward to helping more small business owners get to the next level by improving their sales pitch."

Koch added that last year's Wild Card winner was Cleveland-based Brewnuts, a small business that makes delicious doughnuts using craft beer as a key ingredient in their recipes and glazes.

For more information on how to apply for the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room Wild Card Competition, please visit: http://entm.ag/samadamspitch2015.