Nicki Minaj joins SBA's $1M Shark Tank-style pitch show
The Small Business Administration has tapped Nicki Minaj and actor Dean Cain for a Shark Tank-style Million Dollar Pitch Competition in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18. Five entrepreneurs will compete for a share of $1 million in growth capital before a celebrity judging panel, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler confirmed.
Key Takeaways
- Nicki Minaj will judge the SBA’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition alongside Grant Cardone and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia.
- Dean Cain will host the live final in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18 as five small-business finalists vie for prize money.
- The $1 million pool awards $400,000 for first place down to $75,000 for fifth, so no finalist leaves empty-handed.
- Loeffler framed the event as a 250th-anniversary celebration of American free enterprise and small-business growth.
According to Fox News Digital, which first reported the lineup, the SBA is staging the live pitch as a high-profile showcase of Main Street innovators. Loeffler said the agency is “celebrating America’s legacy of free enterprise” through the competition while spotlighting “the essential contributions of America’s small businesses.”
The format echoes “Shark Tank” and the competitive energy of Trump’s early-2000s hit “The Apprentice.” Entrepreneurs submitted ideas earlier this year; five finalists advanced to the live final round in the capital.
Who is on the celebrity judging panel?
Nicki Minaj joins real-estate entrepreneur and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone and U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, as judges for the final. Dean Cain, best known for playing Superman in the 1990s TV series, will host.
Loeffler said their participation brings “invaluable real-world perspective” as the finalists compete for growth capital. She added that she looks forward to joining them “as we recognize the innovators and job creators who power American strength.” More coverage of innovation-and-enterprise stories runs in our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Which small businesses made the final five?
Fox News identified the finalists as defense technology firm Compotech, Inc. of Brewer, Maine; metalworking machinery maker Winton Machine of Suwanee, Georgia; plastic mold manufacturer Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa; pressure vessel maker Red River of Gillette, Wyoming; and machinery manufacturing firm VetPowered LLC of San Diego, California.
Applicants were scored on strengthening American competitiveness, “punching above its weight,” economic impact and quality jobs, plus business fundamentals and execution readiness. Prize money is tiered: $400,000 for first, $250,000 for second, $150,000 for third, $125,000 for fourth, and $75,000 for fifth.
Why does this pitch competition matter now?
The contest is timed to the nation’s 250th anniversary and is presented as another Trump administration push to spotlight American ingenuity and partner with the private sector on small-business growth. Critics, including MaddowBlog on MS NOW, place it in a broader pattern of Cabinet-linked reality-style programming, noting prior projects tied to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Whatever the politics, the Sept. 18 final puts five Main Street companies under a bright celebrity lens—with Nicki Minaj among the sharks deciding who walks away with the biggest check.