NEWS RELEASE - Friday, August 2, 2019
Shreveporter One of 15 National Semi-Finalists in SEMA Launch Pad 2019 Competiton
John Schurman, founder of Luxe Auto Concepts in Shreveport, is among 15 semi-finalists in the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Launch Pad competition.
Launch Pad is a competition designed to help and support young entrepreneurs in the automotive aftermarket. Ten finalists will be selected through a six-week online voting process that ends Sept. 8 for the opportunity to pitch their business in front of industry experts and be judged by a panel during the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
Luxe Auto Concepts specializes in automotive effects that add a custom look to any vehicle with its patented LightWrap, a translucent premium cast vinyl specifically designed for wrapping a vehicle’s lights and trim without diminishing the ability for light to shine through.
Although the company is only two years old, it has already expanded worldwide with an overseas division recently opened in The Netherlands.
Schurman is a Shreveport native and 2004 graduate of Caddo Magnet High School. After graduating from LSU Shreveport, he interned with William Joyce at Moonbot Studios where he was part of the team that worked on the Academy Award-winning short film “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.” He later became technical director at Shreveport Community Church before starting Luxe and partnering with Jeff Wall and Matt Delaney.
What is the SEMA show?
Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) of the automobile aftermarket consists of 6,383 companies worldwide, bringing together aftermarket manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), media, car dealers, specialty equipment distributors, installers, retailers and restoration specialists.
The largest of the SEMA events held annually during the first week of November is the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. This auto show is not open to the public. Registration as media, manufacturer, buyer or exhibitor is required.
It now occupies more than one million net square feet, draws more than 3,000 media, and has a buyer attendance in excess of 60,000. The SEMA Show now routinely brings together more than 2,300 exhibitors, occupying in excess of 11,000 booths. Total attendance at the Show now tops 150,000 manufacturers, buyers and other industry representatives, making contacts and doing business.
What is SEMA Launch Pad?
This is a very prestigious award presented by YEN (Young Executives Network), a part of SEMA. YENsters are industry leaders who are 39 years of age or younger. The current membership roster represents some of the top technology, marketing and sales, operations and executive minds in the automotive industry. Since 2013 the SEMA Launch Pad program has given young entrepreneurs, students, and business owners age 18-39 an opportunity to launch their products into the $43 billion automotive aftermarket industry. The program shows emerging business owners how to develop, market, and boost their automotive products or services by teaching them business strategies used by industry experts.
For more information on SEMA Launchpad, go to https://www.sema.org/sema_launchpad/
To vote for John: bit.ly/VoteSchurman