Final Four in the COSE Business Pitch Competition Announced

CLEVELAND, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An advertising platform that helps colleges recruit more students, a unique storytelling iPad and iPhone app, custom body shape electric guitars, and craft-beer-based donuts are all part of the ideas submitted among the final four competitors in The Council of Smaller Enterprises' (COSE) fourth annual COSE Business Pitch Competition.  Similar to the concept of the popular ABC reality TV show, Shark Tank, the competition will award $40,000 in prize money to the finalists, with the top winner taking home $20,000.

The final phase of the competition will feature the four finalists making their final pitches to a panel of judges.  The event will serve as the kick-off to the 2014 Small Business Convention that will take place the next two days (October 23 & 24) at Kalahari Resorts and Convention Center in Sandusky.

COSE Business Pitch Competition Finale
Wednesday, October 22
5 to 8 p.m.
Kalahari Resorts & Convention Center
7000 Kalahari Drive, Sandusky

The Business Pitch Competition event is open and free to all interested individuals, including those that have registered for the 2014 Small Business Convention. 

More than 74 aspiring entrepreneurs submitted entries in the competition, consisting of a two-page executive summary and two-minute video pitching their ideas.  A panel of experts reviewed the entries and the top 15 were invited to COSE's offices on October 7 to make face-to-face pitch presentations to the judges. 

Out of that phase of the judging, here are the top four finalists that will compete for the top prize:

• Natalie Bauman – The Digital Mosaic, LLC
  The Digital Mosiac is a unique storytelling app, designed to help people tell their stories one question at a time in an easy-to-use guided format, using webcams to capture the video in short bite-size clips.
• Shelley Fasulko – Brewnuts  
  Brewnuts combines craft beer and donuts in to one, and makes the food and beer lover's ultimate guilty pleasure: craft-beer-based donuts.
• Ryan Schoeneman  – Colby Featherbottom's Custom Sound Machines
  Colby Featherbottom's Custom Sound Machines builds custom body shape electric guitars from their client's own design using CNC robotics, instant cured finishes, and intuitive design software.
• Eric Vennaro – Consult Mango
  Consult Mango's objective is to help colleges to recruit more international students through an advertising platform that helps them automatically post sponsored ads and create content on international social media.

To register, or for more information on the 2014 COSE Business Pitch Competition, logon to www.cose.org/pitch.  If you have questions, please contact Angela Presutti at (216) 592-2385 or [email protected].

About COSE
COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises) is committed to empowering small business success through a series of programs, services, events, and resources that support entrepreneurs, their businesses—and their employees. COSE helps small businesses achieve their idea of success in order to build richer, more vibrant communities that improve the economic climate and enhance quality of life.  You can learn more about COSE at www.cose.org or contacting one of our small business concierges at 866-553-5427.

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SOURCE Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE)