Business Instincts Group, a Canadian company based in Calgary, announced the launch of a new TV show ‘The Next Big Thing,’ which will be a cross between Shark Tank and Kickstarter. Described as a “A Professional Crowdfunding TV Show for Tech Startups,” the first episode will stream online Friday, November 7th at 7:00pm MST.
Business Instincts Group, the creator of the show, describes themselves as a “Business Accelerator, founded by Entrepreneurs who understand startups and have themselves, built highly successful businesses.” They take ideas and help bring them to realization by focusing on the more difficult business processes. According to the company’s Chief Intelligence Officer, Paul Readwin:
“The Next BIG Thing is really about giving people an insight into what it takes for an entrepreneur to turn an idea into a product and then into a profitable business. Our plan is to take the audience on that journey with us over the next year and hopefully see these concepts through to full development and commercialization.”
This show follows in the footsteps of others like Shark Tank, which first aired in 2009. Shark Tank is a show where entrepreneurs pitch their startup ideas to potential investors. These investors use their business experience to pinpoint which ideas are good and question bad ideas or poorly laid plans.
By 2012, SharkTank averaged over 6 million viewers an episode, making it the most watched program on Friday nights in the 18-49-year old demographic. This type of show has gained a lot of popularity because it showcases the American dream and that by working hard, ordinary people can make their startup dreams come true.
Although The Next Big Thing has a similar model to SharkTank, it is focused on using crowdfunding to finance startups, rather than angel investors like Mark Cuban. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have helped make this new financial tool mainstream. With over $1 billion in total dollars pledged since launch, Kickstarter has already made a dent in the way that startups raise money and attract their first customers.
The show will give an inside look on what it takes to build a successful startup, as well as be a great resource for advice on different aspects of the crowdfunding process. The first projects that will be featured on the show are Hindsight, “a smartphone enabled backup Camera for your car that will give you peace of mind,” created by Aaron Moseson and Cruz Ctrl, “an electric longboard, so you can stop pushing and start cruising!” created by James Beard.
Each project will start by raising $20,000 in pledges and then can choose to raise more funds if the first goal is met. Full refunds will be offered to backers of any projects that don’t deliver, according to the betakit post, The Next Big Thing Crowdfunding TV Show aims to find The Next Big Thing.
Three mentors from Business Instincts Group will be on the show asking creators important questions and providing insight into the crowdfunding process. These mentors are Paul Readwin (CIO) who will focus on branding and understanding your customer, Arden Styles (COO) who will focus on operational excellence and manufacturing, and Cory Cleveland (VP of Finance) whose focus will be on financing product development. Joel Smith (Head of Business Development) will be hosting the show.
The first episode will stream online Friday, November 7th at 7:00pm MST.
About the author
Krystine Therriault is the community manager for CrowdCrux and has helped creators with their crowdfunding projects on KickstarterForum.org. She loves learning about new trending projects and dissecting them to bring new tips and information to creators. You can find her on LinkedIn here or Twitter here.
