Win a Kindle in J/i’s “Live Pitch” Contest

One effective and popular way to teach media entrepreneurship to journalism students is to ask them to create their own business ideas and “pitch” them to the class. This year at Journalism Interactive, we’re going to let conference participants try their hands at this educational—and fun—exercise.

Want to Invent the Future of Media?

Think you can come up with the next Twitter, BuzzFeed or ProPublica? If you’ve got an idea for a media-related business–and we define that loosely–send it to contest organizer Mark Potts, a serial entrepreneur and media industry veteran. He will pick three ideas from those submitted and give the “founders” the chance to develop their concepts and pitches under his guidance in the month leading up to the conference.

The “entrepreneurs” selected will make five-minute pitches at the conference’s Saturday morning session on teaching entrepreneurship. A panel of distinguished media business leaders will ask tough questions about their ideas, and the audience will vote on a winner. Alas, we can’t get you venture capital funding for your idea, but we can help you understand the entrepreneurial development process–and you just might win a new Kindle for the best idea presented.

Send Your Ideas to Mark Potts

So dust off that killer startup idea you’ve been secretly harboring and send a note describing it in a sentence or two (it need not be long; this is your elevator pitch!) to Mark Potts: markATmarkpotts.com. He will keep your ideas private unless you are selected and want to share them with the world. Then he’ll help three of you incubate your great ideas into a presentation for the conference. Entry deadline is Feb. 28, but don’t delay, he will be screening as the submissions go in, and will have more time to ask you questions if you enter early.

Who knew business could be so much fun? Take a plunge into our version of Shark Tank!