A car wash technology startup based in Liberty, Kentucky, took home $10,000 last week after winning the Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition.
Safari Solutions, founded in 2021 by car wash operator Dakota Hoskins, won first place at the event, held in conjunction with the SOAR Focus Summit in Hazard, Kentucky. The startup developed a module that enables car wash operators to add barcode scanning capabilities to any existing kiosk.
During his pitch, Hoskins said the idea for the company's barcode scanning technology came after he attended a trade show in Las Vegas last fall. He was there looking for marketing opportunities to promote his car washes' unlimited wash club program, and while he found a firm that fit the criteria in OptSpot, the car washes weren't equipped with the right kind of technology to do a such marketing campaign.
"On the flight home from Las Vegas, I told my dad, 'I'm going to invent a bar code scanner,' and he said, 'You're going to do what?'" Hoskins said.
Hoskins said Safari Solutions' products, which include a fixed mount for a kiosk and handheld device, could easily increase a car wash's revenue by 30% to 40%. The products also allow operators to streamline barcode management across multiple point-of-sale systems.
"This is going to create high-paying technology jobs for Kentucky — we already need another programmer," Hoskins said.
The company needed roughly $8,000 funding for inventory, additional product research and development, and patent protections, and with the first place win, Hoskins got that and a little bit extra.
In a blog post, Shaping Our Appalachia Region (SOAR) said there were more than 300 audience members in attendance to watch the six finalists compete for a shot at funding to further their startup companies. The competition was judged by Molly Pyle, entrepreneurial ecosystem development lead at the Center for Rural Innovation, Monique Kuykendoll Quarterman, deputy executive director of KY Innovation, and Kelby Price, managing partner at Keyhorse Capital.
Elizabeth Schroer took home second place — a $3,500 cash prize — and the crowd favorite award with her business Reimagines. Based in Somerset in Pulaski County, Reimagines is a custom design and print shop, specializing in large format printing and UV printing services.
Dr. Kyle Mann, an Eastern Kentucky dentist, came in third with his company UpScore Test Prep, an interactive and affordable ACT test-prep platform. He won $1,500 for the platform that allows for a fully online and customizable preparation tool that is tailored to the student’s strengths and weaknesses.
You can watch all of the pitches here.
The other finalists were: Kevin Poole of Hemp Cattle Company, Charles Young and Daniel Greider of EmereeSoft and Justin and Kristen Matthews of Eridinaus Brewery. All applicants and finalists for the pitch competition will receive free services through SOAR’s Business and Innovation Team and network of partners.
This year’s Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition attracted a record 39 applicants from 24 counties in Appalachia Kentucky. The competition is led by SOAR’s Business and Innovation team, a partnership with KY Innovation to support startups and existing businesses throughout Kentucky’s 54 Appalachian counties.
