SEMA Launch Pad, an automotive product-pitching competition, will be featured for the first time on a nationwide television special on Feb. 13 on the History Channel, SEMA announced.
The 2021 competition included a record-high 200-plus competitors vying for the program’s largest grand prize ever, valued at $100,000, competition officials said. The program features 15 semifinalists who competed live in Las Vegas, where they pitched their products and ideas to a panel of industry experts and icons that included Chip Foose (Foose Design), Jared Hare (Addictive Desert Designs), Myles Kovacs (DUB) and Alex Parker (Redline Detection).
“We’re excited to bring the SEMA Launch Pad to a nationwide television audience,” said Ted Wentz, SEMA board member and chair of the SEMA Launch Pad Task Force. “For years, the SEMA Launch Pad has encouraged and supported product innovation and new ideas. The television program will give a new audience the opportunity to see the depth of the industry’s innovation.”
The 2021 competition has been documented through a five-episode YouTube miniseries, the organization said. The upcoming television special includes brand-new, exclusive coverage of the finale, with the top two finalists competing in front o of industry professionals at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
“The Launch Pad is a competition designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed and grow,” said Wentz. “To see the competition unfold on television is inspiring. We hope that it encourages others to bring new products to the marketplace as well.”
