Lyons, "Really it's a roadmap for any business in the country. As Stearns says in a discussion with the Film Grain podcast's Erika Berlin and John C. Again, it's rich material here, even if you were to not even be aware of Erie's existence. The stuff of desperation has always been the stuff of reality TV, dating back to Survivor (fittingly) and beyond. That number reflects how many days worth of cash reserves the average small business has at its disposal, although the cushions these enterprising Erieites are working with here are often much smaller - sometimes less than two weeks. This time around, Stearns fully leverages his name and contacts to help these businesses accomplish a formidable feat - go from barely surviving to thriving in just 27 days. "I didn't even know what they were going to do mid-August." What they did not initially know, however, is that they would each be the dedicated subject of a 45-minute episode of a brand new series. ![]() None of the owners are totally surprised to meet Stearns or see cameras - although Littrell says she "screamed like a little girl" when he first approached her cafe in mid-June. ![]() They include the Tipsy Bean (Gisele Littrell), Michael Making Lives Better (Michael Hooks), Dominick's Diner (Tina and Tony Ferraro), TKO Erie (Brian Arrington), Lake Erie Rubber (Jon Meighan), and Stearns' very own Underdog BBQ. The result was the West Lake Road restaurant Underdog BBQ (valued at $750,000) and a name and reputation in the Gem City that now precedes him.ĭiscovery slyly used that brand recognition to drive the casting call for Comeback City, which itself was cloaked as a "business mentorship program." Many businesses applied, six were chosen based on human interest and the unique challenge of their situations. He abandoned his identity and all his resources and connections to come to Erie under the guise of "Glenn Bryant," tasked with building a million-dollar business in 90 days - with a measly $100 in his pocket. Stearns, of course, was the titular "undercover billionaire" of the original series' debut season (a second season is airing now). W ho wants to meet a billionaire? That's the premise of the new Discovery Channel spin-off series Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City, which sets up six struggling Erie small businesses with no-longer-incognito entrepreneur Glenn Stearns for a little tough love. They didn't see him as just some disheveled man who looked like he'd been sleeping in his car - which he had been - but rather a contestant on a reality TV show.Original undercover billionaire Glenn Stearns shares advice with Tipsy Bean owner Gisele Littrell on the pilot episode of the new Discovery Channel spin-off series Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City. ![]() To explain the cameras following Stearns around, Discovery gave him a cover story: He was a regular guy who had always wanted to start a business and was participating in a new show called "The American Dream," to see if he could do so in Erie.Īs some readers pointed out, the cameras likely legitimized Stearns in the eyes of some business owners he approached. The show follows Stearns, who goes by the alias Glenn Bryant, as he begins to scrape together the cash and new connections needed to bring a business to life.īut there's a bit of TV magic going on. When I began writing about Discovery's reality show "Undercover Billionaire" - in which entrepreneur Glenn Stearns hides his identity to try and create a million-dollar company in 90 days in Erie, Pennsylvania, starting with only $100, a cell phone, and an old pickup truck - readers immediately wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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