Zee Americas Premieres “Break Through The Crowd”
First of its kind of reality show, which allows 8 promising startups to fulfill these funding goals through crowdsourcing
Break Through The Crowd premiered on Sunday, October 14 at media and entertainment mega-giant ZEE Entertainment. A new series that will give a handful of lucky contestants a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into a reality by pitching their ideas to some of the sharpest minds in business. In the end, only one hopeful will “break through the crowd” and walk away with a team of prestigious marketing and crowdfunding gurus.
“Each of the individuals profiled for this series has an important story to tell. Our goal is to inspire our viewers by sharing their experiences in a truly compelling and unique way,” said Sameer Targe, CEO at Zee Americas.
After narrowing down submissions from more than 100 hopeful contestants across the globe, only eight entrepreneurs were selected to compete on Break Through The Crowd. They will each be given a chance to showcase their businesses and concepts, which range from sophisticated lifestyle mobile apps, to thoughtful travel accessories – and even percussion instruments that double as an exercise routine. The highly-anticipated series, airing exclusively on ZEE TV, will follow the journeys of these aspiring moguls, who must persuade a panel of brutally honest judges that they have the chops to succeed in the cut-throat world of business.
“Break Through the Crowd isn’t about the judges and their larger-than-life personalities,” said Director, Arka Sengupta. “Unlike other business competition shows on TV, Break Through The Crowd is focused on the entrepreneurs – many of whom are only just learning the ropes about what it takes to start a business.”
“We are giving viewers an honest look at the road to the finish line – and there are bumps along the way. Each episode explores a new aspect of the start-up process – from pitching the concept to investors, to manufacturing challenges, to marketing their product in our ever-evolving digital age,” Kalpana Malviya added. “Fans will relate to the contestants on a deeper level and by the end of season one, they will be emotionally invested in the person behind the product.”
The seven episodes series will be divvied up into phases, which will wean out contestants through a series of real-world business scenarios. In episodes one and two, contestants will pitch their ideas to a panel of business experts, which include Alan Brody, Founder of Blockchain Breakthroughs; Sanford Wollman, Co-Founder of Westchester Angels; Nick Adams, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Differential Ventures; and Ramit Arora, President and Co-Founder of Biz2Credit. And while they often make facing American Idol’s Simon Cowell seem like a walk through the park, each judge comes from a place of sincerity, having walked a mile in those shoes. After the judges have heard all eight pitches and offered their feedback, three entrepreneurs will be eliminated, and five will advance to phase two.
The competition really heats up in the next phase, when, with the help of judges, contestants must condense their pitch to 60 seconds and tweak their business models to reflect actual flaws with their products. Contestants must find ways to overcome problems that vary from production costs, to manufacturing overseas. There are a number of twists and along the way – each designed to prepare contestants for the unxpected curveballs they might inevitably encounter outside of the show. And by the end of episode four, only two entrepreneurs will have secured a spot in the final crowdfunding phase, vying for their chance to “break through the crowd.”
ZEE TV’s Break Through The Crowd premiered on Sunday, October 14 at 8:30pm ET/9pm PT/8pm AST. Episodes will be posted online at https://zeeoriginals.com/shows/break-through-the-crowd/ after their official airdate.
About Zee Network:
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 222,000 hours of television content. With rights to more than 3,818 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE houses the world’s largest Hindi film library. Through its strong presence worldwide, Zee entertains over 1 billion viewers across 172 countries.
About Zee TV USA:
Zee TV USA was the first ever Hindi General Entertainment channel to be launched in the US way back in 1998. Since the start of the journey more than 2 decades ago, Zee now has 43 networks and full time dedicated workforce across 5 different locations all across the North America and Caribbean. Zee TV USA was the first Asian channel to launch in HD. Zee TV was the first Hindi network to be measured by Nielsen in the US, Zee TV is also the most widely available Hindi General Entertainment network on all major DTH, Cable, Telco and IPTV platforms with availability over 86 million US households, as per Sameer Targe, CEO at Zee Americas.