Local entrepreneur talks benefits of Shark Tank experience

In just about two weeks, entrepreneurs will descend on Salisbury University. It’s all part of 47 ABC’s second annual Shark Tank Casting call.

Potential businessmen and women will get a chance to pitch their ideas to be seen by a casting producer.

Tuesday 47 ABC met a local entrepreneur who took part last year and says the experience really helped him grow.

John Churchman is the co-owner of College Scooters and Cycle in Salisbury. He tells us he and a friend came up with their idea while in school at Salisbury University in 2010.

He says they were living in Ocean City and looking for a good way to get to Salisbury, and found a need for motorized scooter sales.

That’s when they went into business. They started in a garage and now they have two stores. Churchman and his business partner pitched at the last casting call. He says they were forced to be on their toes and now really understand the brand of their business.

Churchman says, “When you run a business there’s a lot of ideas everyday. You have to be able to condense those into bullet points. When you talk owner to owner there’s a lot of rambling and discussions, but you can’t have a three hour discussion with an investor or a program like Shark Tank.”  

47 ABC has teamed up with the Perdue School of Business to host the casting call on May 9th.