Applications are open for the 2021 Swim With the Sharks competition

Attention, Delaware entrepreneurs with ventures that have been open for five years or less: The Emerging Enterprise Center’s annual Swim with the Sharks competition has opened its applications for the 2021 competition.

The top winner will receive $10,000 in funding and other prizes. To apply, you’ll need to fill out the online application and submit a business outline that includes:

• A detailed executive summary and mission statement
• Market research on the industry, target market, product and service line, etc.
• Marketing and sales strategy
• Financial projections

You have until Aug. 6 to apply. If you’re eligible, you will be invited to pitch to a panel some time between Aug. 17 and 27. Finalists will be announced on Sept. 1, and the finals will be filmed and aired via DETV on Nov. 3, as they were last year.

Swim with the Sharks, now in its ninth year, has showcased over 100 Delaware entrepreneurs and invested over $110,000 in local startups, including Carvertise, TheraV  and last year’s winner, TRIC Robotics.

“So many people became aware of what we are doing because of this [competition],” said Adam Stager, founder of 2021 RealLIST Startups honoree TRIC Robotics, in a statement.

The Grand Prize winner will also receive a year membership in the Emerging Enterprise Center’s Virtual Incubator Program, a premium marketing package and memberships to the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (NCCCC), World Trade Center Delaware and NextFab. All finalists will receive a professional promotional pitch clip by King Creative and memberships to the NCCCC.

The competition is a partnership between the Emerging Enterprise Center, NCCCC, New Castle County Office of Economic Development initiative NCC Innovates and the Delaware Small Business Development Center, as well as community sponsors. Entrepreneurs from all three counties in Delaware are eligible to apply.