LOS ANGELES – WayFounder has opened its first quarterly online competition, geared at sourcing great ideas from consumers who are not able to assume the risks inherent in founding a new company.
The first competition will run for 60 days through June 8 and will focus on acquiring consumer product and mobile app ideas in Home and Gardening, Baby and Parenting, Pet and ?Wild Card,? encompassing all other ideas in different verticals.
Joining the WayFounder executive team, advisory board and investors, guest judges will review submissions based on their expertise in specific competition categories. Judges are also offering entrants an opportunity to support charities related to their industry by allowing consumers to assign a portion of their entry fee to the organization of their choice.
Guest judges participating include:
Katie Cleary, President, Peace4Animals in support of Peace4Animals.com
Linda Cooper, Retail Expert, Co-Host and Executive Producer of the “Live Love Laugh Today Show,” in support of The Family Place
Jesse Draper, CEO of Valley Girl, Inc. and Founder of Valley Girl Ventures in support of bizworld.org
Brett Marz, Co-founder and President, BAMKO
Justin Massion, Founder, JAM Studios
Kelly McConnell, CEO, Prince Lionheart, Inc. in support of K.I.D.S.
Steve Netzley, CEO, Havas Edge
Cynthia Wylie, Founder & CEO, Bloomers in support of Bloomers Schoolyard
WayFounder provides each competition winner with a cash prize of $10,000, a commitment to spend up to $50,000 to bring the product idea to market, and royalties. If a selected product exhibits the promise of scaling up into a product line or even spawning an entire new category of its own, WayFounder commits up to $250,000 to hire an ?Executive Entrepreneur,? or a Founder/CEO with experience in that specific category, to take the business to the next level. The competition winner also receives founder equity in the new company.
?It is a privilege to work with our guest and celebrity judges as their combined experience represents decades of valuable knowledge of taking product ideas from concept to market. For most people with consumer product ideas, access to this caliber of professional is normally difficult to attain. These founders and executives will be reviewing submissions, providing valuable feedback and offering entrants an increased chance of success,? said Founder and CEO of WayFounder Damon D?Amore.
For more information, click on WayFounder.Com
