Debbie Travis is no longer trying to shake up entitled, aimless twentysomethings by making them build a house.

This time, as her slogan goes, it's all about talent.

That some of the twentysomethings on the first season of her Global Television reality show From the Ground Up weren't actually all that entitled or aimless -- like former Ottawa beauty queen Lindsay Bennett -- made for good, if controversial, television. This time around though, Travis is looking for the goods.

The home design guru plans to build on her Canadian Tire products with a line of Debbie Travis branded Condos and Homes. To do that, she needs a truly talented -- if not necessarily classically trained -- chief designer. So after a cross-country search Travis has landed on 14 eager proteges, who will face a series of design challenges and eliminations over the course of 10 one-hour episodes airing Thursdays beginning next week.

"I have this huge venture. I want the best," said Travis. "I want someone who is going to make me shine and I want to dig deep and I want to give people the opportunity."

Not only was the show shot in Ottawa, at a converted studio space in the Parkdale neighbourhood, but two local women are among those in the running to be Travis' right-hand helper.

One, 30-year-old Mitel industrial designer Jodie Fletcher, Travis tells the Sun, is "brilliant."

Fletcher's design claim to fame so far is designing the sleek audio conferencing unit which later appeared on the TV show Alias.

"She's way better than I am, and that's what you're looking for," said Travis. "She's fascinating because she's very quiet. She's not good reality TV."

Fletcher, who scored the least face time on the first show, loved the experience but admits she's not a natural in front of the camera.

"I'm probably one of the more introverted people on the show, so that was unusual for me," she said.

Dana Cote, a 35-year-old Kanata mom of two, has had little in the way of artistic training. Her most recent venture has been creating Forever Bellies, a belly-casting service for pregnant women.

Cote wanted badly to work for Travis and said she learned a lot about herself while vying to do so. She calls living in a house, dorm-style, the worst part of the experience. And during the first episode -- where Cote is shown complaining about the close quarters and late nights -- it shows.

"I was one of the older people," she said, "and I had a hard time finding common ground."