Robert Baldacci eyes season two of biz pitch show
After the first season of a new show on the Portland-based Community Television Network, host and business consultant Robert Baldacci says he'll be back on the air for a second season next fall.
What started two years ago as a business advice show changed last season into a business pitch show, where aspiring entrepreneurs sought advice and development ideas from the show's panel.
"[The show] provides a lot of exposure to some of the new, enterprising businesses across the state," Baldacci says.
Baldacci, who has served as chairman of the Finance Authority of Maine and held other economic development positions around the state, says the show is also a marketing tool for his company, the Baldacci Group.
In the last season, companies like the Brunswick-based athletic apparel company Atayne and mobile application creator Rocco Sbardella made their pitches to a panel that included Hugh Stevens, of the University of Maine's Knowledge Transfer Alliance; attorney and business consultant F. Lee Bailey; Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development executive director Don Gooding; and Elizabeth Baldacci, a co-principal of the Baldacci Group.
Robert Baldacci says that companies appearing in the first season of the pitch show, called PitchME, have not yet attracted investors but are continuing to refine their business models to prove an ability to generate revenue.
One recent contestant did walk away with some cash, though. Through a partnership with the youth entrepreneurship nonprofit Build-A-Biz, Old Town Middle School student Oliviah Damboise won a $1,000 college scholarship based on her pitch to create a sock to cover and protect track shoes.
The final show of the season, featuring Damboise, airs tonight at 7 p.m. on CTN and online.
For the next season scheduled to start in the fall, Baldacci says he's still lining up companies seeking advice and exposure and can be reached through his website at baldaccigroup.com or at 756-2063.
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