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SBA Sets Sept. 18 Million Dollar Pitch Competition With Nicki Minaj and Dean Cain

The televised, Shark Tank–style finale, funded by Clover Network, is meant to spotlight small-business growth as part of the Freedom 250 program.

Rapper Nicki Minaj joined President Donald Trump on stage during the Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28.
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Administrator of the Small Business Administration Kelly Loeffler introduces U.S. Vice President JD Vance at CompoTech headquarters on August 24, 2026 in Brewer, Maine.
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Overview

  • The Small Business Administration will hold the Million Dollar Pitch Competition in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18 with Nicki Minaj, Grant Cardone and Joe Gebbia serving as judges and Dean Cain as host.
  • Five national finalists — Compotech, Winton Machine, Plas‑Tech Tooling, Red River and VetPowered — will pitch for a $1 million prize pool with awards ranging from $400,000 for first place to $75,000 for fifth.
  • The agency says the $1 million cash prizes are being privately funded by Clover Network rather than paid directly from taxpayer accounts.
  • Coverage describes the format as similar to Shark Tank and President Trump’s The Apprentice, a comparison sharpened by the presence of high‑profile Trump supporters on the panel and an administration official among the judges.
  • The SBA says the finale will be broadcast and streamed, a move that could broaden exposure for the finalists while intensifying media scrutiny of the administration’s use of entertainment‑style events for public policy promotion.