Samuel Adams Helps San Diego Area Small Business Owners With Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room Competition & Speed Coaching Event On July 25

July 12, 2016

On Monday, July 25, Samuel Adams brings its Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room Competition & Speed Coaching Event back to San Diego, offering small food and beverage business owners the chance to present their sales pitch to an expert panel of industry judges who will offer business advice and a chance to join competitors from around the country at the Boston finals in December, where they will compete for a $10,000 business grant and a year of extended coaching/mentoring from Samuel Adams.

Samuel Adams is celebrating 32 years of brewing, and despite the craft brewery’s success, brewer and founder Jim Koch hasn’t forgotten how hard it is to start and run a successful small business. That’s why he created Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a unique program that provides the two things he wishes he had when starting Sam Adams: real-world business advice and a loan. In San Diego alone, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream has lent $1.1 million to 73 small food and beverage businesses that support nearly 300 jobs in Southern California.

The Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room is a dynamic event where a panel of expert food judges offer business owners advice on their sales pitch, with the winning business from each of the four regional competitions squaring off at the 2016 National Pitch Room Finals in Boston this December, where the grand champion will receive a $10,000 business grant and a year of extended coaching/mentoring from Samuel Adams. Last year’s San Diego regional winner was Stenzelberry Sweet Fire Jelly.

Want to compete in a kinder, gentler ‘mini-Shark Tank’ for a shot at the Pitch Room grand prize? Those interested in competing in the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room competition in San Diego may submit an application online. If selected to participate, business owners will have two minutes to present the merits of their product and business to a panel of expert judges representing some of the country’s most admired retailers, wholesalers and restaurant owners. After providing critical, real-world advice to participants and fielding questions about the pitch, the judges select a regional winner based on quality of presentation, creativity, passion, and product viability. 

The Pitch Room will be followed by Brewing the American Dream’s signature Speed Coaching. At this event small food and beverage business owners have the opportunity to work with a variety of local business specialists and Sam Adams experts. Each small business owner can participate in up to six 20-minute personalized, high-impact coaching sessions with the goal of solving specific problems related to sales and distribution, packaging, finance, e-commerce and more.

Attendees can expect a fun evening of learning, networking and comradery, and will also receive a complimentary copy of the new book Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two by Samuel Adams brewer and founder, Jim Koch.

Samuel Adams' Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room Competition & Speed Coaching Event takes place on July 25, from 5-9:30pm at Marina Village, located at 1936 Quivira Way. Small food and beverage business owners and entrepreneurs interested in participating in the Pitch Room Competition must submit an application at http://btad.samueladams.com/about/pitch-room.aspx. Entrepreneurs interested in attending the free Speed Coaching event should register at http://bit.ly/BTAD-SanDiego.