Annapolis entrepreneurs will get a chance to pitch their ideas for next big thing by climbing aboard a bus at the Statehouse on Friday between 9 a.m. and noon. 

Startup Maryland is a statewide initiative to connect entrepreneurs with each other and with a network of investors. The organization is bringing its Pitch Across Maryland bus tour to Statehouse Circle.

“The bus tour is a great way to generate excitement about startups statewide, while at the same time, giving individual entrepreneurs a chance to shine the spotlight on themselves and their communities," Julie LenzerKirk, Startup Maryland co-chair said in a press release.

Anyone with an idea for a new business or new product can show up and record a video in the bus's mobile studio explaining why their idea deserves funding.

The videos will then be posted online, and Marylanders will vote for their favorites. The top eight startups will win a chance to present their pitches at November's Maryland Entrepreneur Expo to a panel of experts. The panel will select a winner and a runner-up who will score an invitation to the Mid-Atlantic's highest profile venture capital conference. 

"Entrepreneurs across the state have told us that they want Startup Maryland to create stronger connections between communities," Mike Binko, Startup Maryland co-chairman, said in a press release. "Our goal for the tour is bring together entrepreneurs from across the state, introduce them to new resources and provide them with the guidance they need to be successful.” 

The tour takes place from Sept. 11 to 28, and the bus will make more than 20 stops around the state. It concludes in Columbia with a celebration that will feature live music, prizes and a speech from Honest Tea founder and CEO Seth Goldman.

Can't make it to the Annapolis stop? Click here to find a list of upcoming bus stops around the state.