Revving up the millennial vibe, Final Pitch is back for Season 3 with new judges and more angel fund to influence younger people to embrace entrepreneurship.
Young entrepreneur Milka Romero is the first full-pledged female judge to join the show as a judge and investor.
She is joining the show’s veteran judges William Tiu Lim and her billionaire father Mikee Romero, who are making a comeback in Season 3.
“I think this upcoming Season 3 will be more exciting because in addition to new mentors, the show will not be a male monopoly which was the case in the previous seasons. This time I will be joining as a full-pledged judge together with Ms. Maricris Sandiego of BPI Foundation as female mentors,” she said.
William Tiu Lim, multi-awarded president and chief executive of diversified food conglomerate Mega Global Corp., returns with an eye to find and mentor more budding entrepreneurs.
Rep. Mikee Romero is an energy and power industrialist and co-founding owner of Philippines AirAsia with stakes in diverse industries.
Joining the lineup of the show’s illustrious investor judges are Michael Dargani, president and CEO of IceDream Inc., Philippine franchise owner of Baskin Robbins; and Philippines-based British national Mark Vernon, founder of Tagcash Ltd., a blockchain and cryptocurrency payments and crowdfunding platform.
Vernon’s involvement will be complemented by the special participation of the Manila Angels Investor Network.
“Now that I’m one of the judges, I’m so excited especially since I can relate to young entrepreneurs who will be pitching,” said the younger Romero.
“Although I can entertain a lot of new ideas, a lot of new trend, at the end of the day I want to see the numbers. The endeavor should be able to realize the ROI and lower operation or production cost. Coming up with fresh idea is not extremely difficult. It can be an existing concept but on a different perspective,” she said.
The Final Pitch is the Philippines’ first business reality TV show which airs on CNN Philippines. It links promising entrepreneurs with multi-millionaire and billionaire investors looking to forge the next exciting business deals.
Organizers said the show has proven how the combination of the right business models and talented entrepreneurs can attract angel funding from even the most traditional businessmen in the Philippines.
The goal is to connect the business to the right people, get them funded, and help them scale to eventually become successful contributors to nation building.
The season begins with an initial pitch, where the entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to the investor judges.
Those selected in the initial pitch will undergo a boot camp complete with business challenges and mentoring opportunities from industry thought leaders and the show’s partners on how to better run, brand, and grow their businesses.
The season culminates in a nerve-wracking final pitch, where the deals are eventually made.
Mentors of the third season will include Thames International Business School president Joel Santos, EON The Stakeholder Relationships Group co-founder and chairman Junie del Mundo, Gorriceta Law partner Mark Gorriceta, and other resource experts.
The show once again renews its partnership with BPI Foundation for the show’s social enterprise category.
BPI Foundation executive director Maricris Sandiego joins the show as a guest judge, earmarking a P500,000 grant to a social enterprise of their choice. Joining Sandiego as guest judges and mentors are John-C Syquia, senior vice president and group head of BPI Corporate Banking, and Junie Veloso, group Head of BPI Business Banking.
Final Pitch will start shooting in December 2018 and will air in March 2019. The final 25 contenders get to pitch with investors.