April Femrite wants your vote.
The Mankato woman — a finalist in an American Idolstyle contest for entrepreneurs sponsored by Forbes.com — is hoping to land $100,000 in cash and advertising for her bamboo fiber clothing business.
She already bested more than 1,500 other entrants in the country to become one of 20 finalists. That honor came from her written submission reviewed by Forbes’ judges.
Landing in the final five — and getting a trip to New York where the winner will be picked — is based solely on online votes submitted at http://boost09.perfectprize.com/voting/. Voting is open until Sept. 30.
“I’m a little nervous about the voting. I feel more comfortable doing a presentation in front of judges instead of just seeing who has the biggest e- mail list," said Femrite, a Minnesota State Mankato graduate who started Naturally Bamboo two years ago.
She's trying to spread the word through social media such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in hopes of garnering more votes.
A part of each of the finalists' profile is a 30-second video of them pitching their business. Femrite's video shows her talking fast about her business and dreams while a friend holds up large sheets of hand- drawn signs that include the messages: "Yes, she is actually wearing bamboo," and "Yes, she will re-use & then recycle this paper."
The video, paid for by Forbes and shot in a Twin Cities studio, was not long in the making, Femrite admits.
"I threw the video together with my friend the morning we taped it," she said. " Thirty seconds is hard to do. I had to do it several times because I went too long."
This is the third year of Forbes. com's Boost Your Business contest. The winner gets $ 50,000 in cash and $ 50,000 in advertising on Forbes.com.
For more Free Press news go to www.mankatofreepress.com.
Email this article | Permanent link | Topstories news | Topstories news archives
Minnesota State
University, Mankato
Mankato, MN 56001
1-800-722-0544
© 2005-2013 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Minnesota State University, Mankato is a member of
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system and an affirmative action/equal opportunity university.
