b'CONTESTANTSWHOLLDARE THE LAIR?By Sarah B. Hood1 8 c o M e e t l t h eF orget the dragons and the sharks. Meet the Bears! While much of the world was hibernating through COVID, womanpreneur Geena Jackson was in n t e s t a n t sdiscussions with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) about Bears Lair, a reality show designed to springboard Indigenous entrepreneurs into w h o w i l v i ea bright financial future.f o r i n v e s t m e n tModelled loosely on the success of mainstream reality shows like Dragons Den, the concept offers a similar competition, only one focused exclusively on Indigenous d o l l a r s o nbusinesses. A total of 18 candidates will pitch their business concepts to a panel of four Indigenous judges: Jackson herself, CCAB president and CEO Tabatha Bull, B e a r sL a i r energy-sector maven Dave Tuccaro, and prominent business leader Robert Louie. Six of the contestants will each win $10,000, and the Season 1 finale winner will walk away with a $100,000 grand prize to invest in their business vision.Bears Lair debuts this fall on APTN. Here is an overview of all the contestants participating in the inaugural season. 34A CCAB PUBLICATION2022'