A Mount Bethel business got a $10,000 prize and an appearance on the Rachael Ray Show last week.
Hardball Cider CEO Geoffrey Deen was on the show to give 30 second pitch to Barbara Corcoran of ABC’s Shark Tank.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” he said.
The hard cider brewer was chosen out of 1,000 small business entries to be one of three winners of the 2016 OnDeck Seal of Approval Contest.
Deen, a graduate of Moravian College in Bethlehem, began Hardball Cider three years ago, combining what he described as a love for cider and baseball. He was a baseball player at Moravian, and uses baseball has his company’s theme.
He was the fifth generation to run his family’s apple farm and was looking for a fun way to turn the apple orchard into a profitable career.
Hardball Cider will receive a $10,000 cash prize from online small-business lender, OnDeck, and a one-on-one coaching session with Barbara Corcoran designed to propel the business to the next level.
To enter the contest, business owners had to explain how they would use the $10,000 prize and guidance from Barbara Corcoran to grow their businesses.
Deen said he was looking to add a cider tasting room to his business. He’s currently exploring locations on his family’s farm and in spots in Bethlehem and Easton.
He is scheduled to meet with Corcoran to discuss his potential plans on Jan. 27.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges, including Corcoran, OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow and David Bobbitt, president of The SCORE Foundation, a non-profit organization comprised of 11,000 business executives who volunteer to provide free and confidential advice.
