MILWAUKEE — It's your chance to hear from the people behind some of the country's most innovative startups.
They're in Milwaukee to pitch their ideas — and hopefully — walk away with some big prize money.
We're in the middle of Summerfest Tech, a three-day event that blends music, entertainment, and emerging technology and it includes a pitch competition — a shark tank-style event with thousands of dollars on the line.
"We're going to be giving away $50,000 this year," said Jonah Turner, head of emerging tech for Molson Coors, the company sponsoring the contest. "$20,000 will go to our winner."
The applicants, from more than a dozen states and 20 different countries, have been whittled to a list of eight finalists.
New this year is a $5,000 prize for a hometown winner — someone in the Milwaukee area. That includes Leonard Novati who is excited to pitch his startup 'AfroCharts,' a music streaming platform.
"Everybody loves music, I love music," he said with a smile. "I grew up in a refugee camp and music was the best way for us to stay connected."
Last year's first-place pitch was from a company called Kwema.
"What we did is create a badge reel, everybody already wears one," said CEO and co-founder Ali Jabry. "We made it smart. It has a little panic button on the side so when you press that it sends a location ping to your security or evacuation detail and they can get you help."
The exposure earned him the potential to work with Molson Coors, which is now testing how it might use Kwema technology on its Milwaukee campus.
This year's tech pitch competition is free and open to the public. It starts at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28 and this is all taking place at Potawatomi Casino Hotel.
Summerfest Tech runs through Thursday. Click here for a look at all the events.
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