Shoals Idea Audition Competition Will Reward Local Entrepreneurs

Oct. 01, 2021

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, AL – The finals for the Shoals Idea Audition will take place Tuesday, Oct. 19 at UNA on Sixth in Tuscumbia at 5:30 p.m. The audition is a Shoals Shift event supported by Innovation Sponsor Bank Independent, the Shoals Economic Development Authority, the University of North Alabama, and the Shoals Chamber of Commerce.

“We are excited that the Shoals Idea Audition is in-person this year and that the panel of expert peers will be able to hear the pitches live,” said Mary Marshall VanSant, a founder of the event and Director of the Center for Learning and Professional Development at UNA. “It is the eighth year for the Shoals Idea Audition, and each year, we have seen some incredible pitches. This year will be no exception.”

The initial pitches from participants will take place Monday, Oct. 18 via Zoom.

The Shoals Idea Audition is designed to foster new businesses, help entrepreneurs polish their presentations, and introduce community leaders who might be instrumental in helping make their ideas a reality. Participants will have an opportunity to present their business ideas to a panel of area professionals, and the top-scoring idea will be awarded a $5,000 cash prize. Second and third-place winners will receive $2,500 and $1,000, respectively.

The 2020 winner was LIVE! From Nashville Ave., owner/operator Kevin Robinson, of Sheffield.

For more on the Shoals Idea Audition, visit this link.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.