Tripp Phillips of Dalton, Georgia, holds his product, Le Glue, which he developed to affix lego pieces together. His product was the winner of the Dalton Innovation Accelerator's first pitch competition last year.The Dalton Innovation Accelerator, building off of the Northwest Georgia city's rich history of entrepreneurism, is in its second year of offering a pitch competition to help jumpstart businesses with last year's winner having appeared on the hit TV show "Shark Tank."
Barry Slaymaker, a co-founder of the accelerator, said that eight businesses were selected from over 25 applicants to compete this year with the winners selected in October.
"They're all pretty interesting," he says. "We had fewer applications, but they were high quality applications with very developed ideas."
In 2018, with an aim of spurring more entrepreneurship in Dalton, Georgia, the innovation incubator downtown was started up along with the competition where people can pitch business ideas to potential investors.
The accelerator went into the historic, six-level Landmark Building on Hamilton Street where space was carved out to hold entrepreneurs and the services to help them grow their ideas. It was not just focused at high-tech companies, but more broadly at entrepreneurs.
Last year, then-Dalton 13-year-old Tripp Phillips won the pitch competition and he later appeared on "Shark Tank," winning an $80,000 investment from one of the show's "sharks" for Le-Glue. The product bonds building blocks such as Legos but releases them after immersion in warm water.
Slaymaker says the accelerator has been seeing "a significant amount of impact," with a new wrinkle that included having Dalton Public Schools into the pitch competition this year.
He says that students from elementary level to 12th grade will be pitching their own business ideas. Four could come out of that effort and be a part of the main pitch competition in October, Slaymaker says.
"We may have the ability to put 10 to 12 tremendous ideas on stage for the judges," he says. "It's exciting to see how this is expanding in our community."
Slaymaker says it's key for young entrepreneurs to continue to be invested in the city and it reinforces how important it is to open entrepreneurial doors to students as early as possible.
He said the accelerator put a satellite location within the school system, and the students worked with mentors to refine their ideas.
In the next cycle, Slaymaker said the hope is to engage Whitfield County Schools.
He said that Le Glue had a number of doors open for Tripp, his sister Allee, and their father Lee. Slaymaker said they've been "putting a lot effort back into the accelerator."
Lee Phillips said last year that the most valuable part of winning the Dalton competition wasn't the money, but the services they received from a lawyer and boosting the product's website.