'Shark Tank'-style competition show featuring UNC students premieres

A new “Shark Tank”-style show starring UNC students was recently produced by The Design Network. 

The show, called “Seed Money,” was filmed last spring and is a competition between college students who present their startup companies in front of a panel of three judges. Participants work with the judges and other business professionals to improve their pitches. The show was filmed on UNC’s campus in the Curtis Media Center. 

The judges include Kenan-Flagler Business School professor and Top of the Hill founder Scott Maitland, along with the head of the UNC Shuford Entrepreneurship Program, Bernard Bell. Each episode is hosted by Mary Laci Motley, a UNC alumna and founder of EATS2SEATS. 

Each of the three episodes has a different focus — education, public health and improving everyday experiences. The show premiered on The Design Network on Aug. 7 and all episodes are available to watch for free on the network’s YouTube channel. 

Caroline Landry, the head of business development at TDN, said that the network is in the process of getting “Seed Money” added as an on-demand option on streaming networks, including Samsung TV Plus, Hulu and more.

While TDN usually focuses on home design and lifestyle content, Landry said that “Seed Money” was a step outside of the box for them by focusing on business design.

“We just had this idea with 'Seed Money' to give back to both mine and Jason's alma mater, connect in with some of our favorite people at the University, like Bernard Bell, Scott Maitland and Mary Laci, and to spotlight the amazing ideas that young entrepreneurs have at UNC,” Landry said.

TDN was founded by Jason Harris, who also served as executive producer for the show. Harris, a Carolina alumnus, said that he wanted the first run of "Seed Money" to center on UNC because of his connections with the University and how well it prepared him for the business world.

Bell and Maitland both said one business from the show that stuck out to them was Plant Parenthood, a company founded by UNC undergraduates Max Nelson and Dylan Nicks.

“First of all, I love the name, but it was a group of guys where they took plants, they grew them or purchased them, and then they sold them for people in dorm rooms to help with mental health,” Bell said.

Florian Zajic, a junior at UNC who co-founded the company IRI-Sys, won the public health-focused episode. IRI-Sys works with businesses to help them simplify the complex regulations in the personal care industry. He said that the show has been good for the company’s exposure and that seeing himself on TV was surreal.

“It's obviously a huge thing to be part of during your time as an undergrad,” he said. “I sent it around to a bunch of friends and family, and they were obviously super thrilled for me and had very positive reactions.”

TDN made the show in collaboration with the already existing Joan and Chester Luby Pitch Competition, which provides prize money to student-led startup companies. The competitors on “Seed Money” were students already participating in the competition who agreed to be part of the show.

Future plans for the show include expanding it by creating episodes at other colleges. Landry said that she would be especially interested in taking the show to design-centered colleges such as Parsons and SCAD to connect the show with TDN’s other projects.

Bell said that while “Shark Tank” and other shows have massive appeal, they don’t target a younger college-aged audience like “Seed Money” does.

“You don't see a lot of pitching shows amongst college students and that college age demographic. So I think Jason did a great job seeing a market opportunity and kind of driving through it,” he said. 

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