Sun-News reportPublished 10:12 a.m. MT Oct. 3, 2018

LAS CRUCES – Arrowhead Center, the entrepreneurship and innovation hub at New Mexico State University, will host its fifth Aggie Shark Tank event from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts during NMSU’s weeklong Homecoming celebration. Aggie Shark Tank is free to attend and registration is available online at sharktank.nmsu.edu. A reception will follow the event.

Aggie Shark Tank is based on the popular “Shark Tank” television show and offers entrepreneurs working with Arrowhead Center’s student business accelerator, Studio G, a chance to pitch their businesses to local business leaders for possible investment.

This year’s school of “sharks” includes Sisbarro Dealerships owner Lou Sisbarro and Mesilla Valley Transportation owner Royal Jones, who have participated in Aggie Shark Tank since its inception in 2015, along with Beto Pallares, a venture capital advisor who recently joined NMSU’s College of Business as its Bill and Sharon Sheriff Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, and Todd Bisio, co-founder, president and CEO of Albuquerque-based software development company Catapult, Inc.

Participants will be pitching a wide range of business ideas from medical devices and research tools to ag technology and New Mexico-themed products.

In addition to the possibility of investment from one or more of the sharks, participants will compete for a $1,000 Crowd Favorite prize, selected by the audience, and a $10,000 prize sponsored by the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at Arrowhead Center, which will be awarded to the company with the most potential to take the next step in commercialization and economic impact. Student entrepreneurs have raised more than $325,000 through the first four Aggie Shark Tank events.

For information or to register for free tickets, visit http://sharktank.nmsu.edu.

Last year: Sharks bite at data security idea during Aggies Shark Tank