A Shark Tank-like contest is giving potential entrepreneurs the chance to win a free one-month lease for their business idea on Washington Street in South Norwalk.

"We asked entrepreneurs to submit their ideas," said Linda Kavanagh, the director of OnWashington, which is hosting the Entrepreneur Contest. "Everything from their product overviews to their business plan, you know, long-term, some financials, their branding."

A panel will then review the pitches and evaluate them based on things like fit in the area, as well as how realistic and well thought out they are.

"It actually forces the entrepreneur to kind of take things to the next step," said Kavanagh. "It's not an easy process."

The winner is then given the one-month lease, with the option to negotiate with the landlord for more after it is up.

"The whole idea is to nurture young talent," Kavanagh said, "have an incubator space, or kind of just practice."

"It's can you do it? What do customers think? It's real market research," explained Brad Kerner, who won the contest the first time it was held, back in the spring of 2021.

"I remember being a little bit crazy, it was right during COVID, thinking 'why not,'" he remembered. "I just wrote a business plan, I presented it, and when they told me I won, they said here are the keys."

Almost five years later, his coffee shop and market, Eco Evolution is still there.

"It was very helpful to be able to kind of test out my concept, and have a few months to kind of see if I really wanted to do this, it was very low-risk, and they let me kind of realize my dream," Kerner said.

As for this year, since there are already so many restaurants in the area, Kavanagh says judges will probably be looking for something a little different, mentioning the possibility of a media company, creative industry, or fitness studio.

Meanwhile, Kerner says he would like to see some more retail, while also adding something that stays open late might do well, by drawing in the after dinner crowd.

Kavanagh also told News 12 that she would be up for something totally unexpected and out of the box.

"The neighborhood can take that, you know, Washington Street, South Norwalk, we're a little edgier, we're definitely open to ideas," she said.

The contest is accepting submissions through Feb. 27.