GENTLEMAN JACK AND WIRED TEAM UP FOR “PITCH DISTILLED”

Amateur Entrepreneur Competition Kicks Off in Detroit December 12th

Gentleman Jack Double Mellowed Tennessee Whiskey and WIRED Brand Lab today announce Pitch Distilled – a multi-city event series that brings together local entrepreneurs to pitch start-up business concepts. These ideas are then judged by founders from Seamless, Wanderu and Startup52 for a chance to win prize money and be featured in WIRED. In its third year, Pitch Distilled will be touring a new set of markets, hosting these events in emerging innovation hubs across the United States, including Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver and Houston.

“The innovation that is represented at every Pitch Distilled event never fails to inspire. We are thrilled to once again partner with Gentleman Jack on a program whose ethos is so true to the heart of our brands” said Kim Kelleher, Chief Business Officer of WIRED. “This year, the event series will bring the spirit of entrepreneurship to life from Philadelphia to Houston. We look forward to uncovering the next Big Idea in each of these markets.”

To compete in Pitch Distilled, entrepreneurs should submit proposals online at pitchdistilled.gentlemanjack.com. A panel of judges, selected by WIRED Brand Lab, will narrow down entries to three finalists per market. The finalists then receive special one-on-one mentoring from the judges, to help them craft their pitch, before they deliver it to a live audience at the Pitch Distilled events in each city. The audience selects the winning entrepreneur, who receives a $5,000 monetary prize, along with a branded feature on WIRED.com.

“We’re thrilled to bring Pitch Distilled back for the third year to a new group of markets across the US,” said Ana Kornegay, Gentleman Jack Brand Director. “Jack Daniel had an entrepreneurial spirit which led to the founding of his Tennessee Whiskey back in 1866 and we’re excited to give our friends the opportunity to let their creativity shine.”

The judges selected this year are Jason Finger, co-founder of Seamless, the revolutionary food ordering service which serves more than 10,000 enterprises and one million individuals in 22 cities throughout the world; Chike Ukaegbu, founder and lead executive at Startup52, the first accelerator in NYC focused on identifying and supporting minority and female entrepreneurs; and Polina Raygorodskaya and Igor Bratnikov, co-founders of Wanderu, a travel technology company valued at $100 million that allows riders in the U.S. and Europe to book bus and train tickets on their mobile devices.

For more information on Pitch Distilled visit http://pitchdistilled.gentlemanjack.com/. For the latest news on the Pitch Distilled, including event dates, location, and updates follow @WIREDInsider on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Jack Daniel’s

Officially registered by the U.S. Government in 1866 and based in Lynchburg, Tenn., the Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow proprietor, is the first registered distillery in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Jack Daniel’s is the maker of the world-famous Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack Double Mellowed Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select and Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails.

Your friends at Jack Daniel’s remind you to drink responsibly.

Pitch Distilled is produced by WIRED Brand Lab, a creative and experiential in-house agency for the WIRED Media Group, which includes WIRED, Ars Technica, and Backchannel. WIRED Brand Lab connects brands with a WIRED-approved roster of writers, filmmakers, photographers, designers, and engineers, for cross-platform storytelling experiences with a distinctly WIRED-style.