SEMA News—June 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Launch Pad Competition Returns for 2014

	Jonathan Mill (second from right), was named the 2013 Launch Pad winner. He was congratulated by Bryan Harrison (left), Lindsay Hubley (second from left) and Dan Kahn (right).

The SEMA Launch Pad competition, in which automotive innovators under the age of 40 showcase their business plans for marketing a product or service, has returned for 2014. Last year’s inaugural winner was Jonathan Mill for the E-Stopp, a pushbutton emergency brake and anti-theft device for custom vehicles.

For the 2014 competition, the top 10 competitors will gather votes through the SEMA Facebook/YouTube voting platform. The top five individuals will then receive invitations to pitch their business ideas during a special event in front of an industry-fueled crowd at the 2014 SEMA Show.

The Launch Pad competition is presented by the Young Executives Network. The competition’s judging panel will feature returning judges Doug Evans, SEMA chairman-elect; and Ron Coleman, president and CEO of COMP Performance Group. New judges include Tracie Nuñez, president of the Performance Warehouse Association; Todd Ballard, director of sports marketing at GoPro; and Glenn Rogers, partner at Beyond Marketing.

For more information, to fill out an application or to learn about the winner’s prize package—which includes a 10x10-ft. booth at the 2015 SEMA Show, a one-page ad in SEMA News, an ad in Hot Rod or 4-Wheel & Off Road magazine, PR and social-media consultation and much more—visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Questions? Contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.