Award-winning designer Alexander Julian is the master of ceremonies for the “Shark Tank” startup competition being put on by Rocky Mount-based SpringBoard NC.

Three judges also are named for the contest.

“Alex was born, raised, and educated in Chapel Hill. He moved to New York in ’75 to pursue his goal of winning the coveted Coty Award, the Oscars for fashion design, before he turned 30. He succeeded, and won 5 Coty Awards, becoming the then youngest ever inductee into the Fashion Hall of Fame,” the group notes.

Judges are Michael Goodmon of WRAL TechWire corporate parent Capitol Broadcasting, Sandy Robertson Jr. and Briles Johnson.

Bios as provided by Springboard NC::

  • Michael Goodmon leads one of the country’s most dynamic urban mixed-use developments, the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. As vice president of real estate for Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., the campus’ owner and master developer, Michael manages the day-to-day activities of approximately 1,000,000 square feet of class A office, restaurant, residential and retail space.
  • C. Saunders (Sandy) Roberson Jr. is currently the Owner of HealthView Capital Partners, a small private equity group with the primary investment target for Health Care Companies in a revenue range of $15-25MM.
  • Briles Johnson is the Executive Director of the Women’s Business Center of North Carolina. She is responsible for the continued growth, education, certification, training and advocacy of women entrepreneurs across the state. Briles’ experience includes 13 years of Economic Development, including her time with the NC Department of Commerce and NCIMED.

Startups can apply at: http://www.springboardnc.org/shark-tank-2015

The event will take place NC Wesleyan College’s Dunn Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, February 12.

SpringBoard NC’s mission is to help foster and grow entrepreneurship in the I-95/ Hwy 64 region of Eastern North Carolina. it launched in 2012.

It’s mission:

  • Start
  • Grow
  • Capitalize

“SpringBoardNC is built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – Designed to support entrepreneurs in the I-95/64 corridor by networking resources for startup activity, business growth, and capitalization,” the organization says.

“Working in conjunction with strategic partners, SpringBoardNC facilitates an entrepreneur community with opportunities for entrepreneurs to engage with peers, compete for seed funding, workshop their ideas, test market, and gain access to funding sources for their business.”

Admission is free.