JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars may have been on the field Friday, but on Thursday they turned EverBank field into a pseudo-game-show studio.
The Jags recreated the popular show "Shark Tank," on which entrepreneurs pitch business models to extremely successful business people, one of whom Jacksonville residents may know.
People usually assume the most ferocious animals at EverBank are jaguars, but Thursday it was sharks, and one has a very famous mustache.
This was the Jags' version of "Shark Tank," although one of the judges is Jags President Mark Lamping, who likes to call it something else.
"We're more 'Jags Cage,' and I'm like Chuck Woolery in this process," Lamping said.
The official name is "Small Business Breakthrough," but according to Jaguars owner Shad Khan, sometimes it is like being in a shark tank.
"So far we've been super nice, but some of the ideas are a little crazy and we need to give them a reality check," Khan said.
It can be a bit intimidating to come into what's essentially a billionaire's business and tell him and some other successful execs why they should back your upstart, but that's what nine entrepreneurs did.
"This contest is offering one local business the opportunity of a lifetime. A chance to break through and get to the next level. Giving them a prize that includes Jaguars sponsorship and a digital makeover worth over $250,000," Steven Ziff, with Jaguars marketing, said.
The competitors ranged from a guy selling gourmet popsicles and a business called Twinkle Toe Nannies to a company that claims, "We sell recycled skateboard sunglasses."
"If you can't handle tough questions, it might not be good for you out there," judge Camille Lee-Johnson said.
Not all of the competitors were just chum in the water though. With an over-the-top presentation, Gil Dror not only came out unscathed but was in the running to win the competition.
"It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought. They were cool, a little shark-like, but I think I answered it the best I could and had a great time," Dror said.
Dror's presentation paid off. His company, Modasten Inc., won the competition. The winner was announced Friday night during the 2-minute warning of the second quarter of the Jaguars game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For more on the company, go to http://modasten.com.
The Jags also filmed the whole experience and are trying to shop it around to television networks as an ongoing show.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the nine companies that entered the competition can go to the Jags Facebook page.