Several area entrepreneurs won nearly $20,000 in seed money to start their businesses at the Next Big Thing Pitch Contest held at Indiana University Southeast.
A total of eight finalists competed for the prizes, which, in addition to capital, includes office space at Novaparke Innovation & Technology Campus in Georgetown, Indiana, membership to Maker 13 and scholarships to IU Southeast.
The event kicked-off with encouragement from IU Southeast Chancellor Debbie Ford and Mike Fulkerson, business adviser and ecosystem navigator for the Indiana Small Business Development Center, according to a news release.
“It’s not just about winning,” Fulkerson said about the pitch contest objectives. “It’s about learning and developing partnerships along the way.”
The event, held Nov. 18, had two categories: Community Fast Pitch and Community Pitch Tank.
Fast Pitch is for individuals or teams who have identified a problem to solve or customer need, have executed market research, and have a rough business plan. However, they have not identified or finalized a minimum viable product or service to offer. Products and solutions pitched included in-home art kits, addiction recovery services, cleaning solutions and packaging and shipping solutions.
Pitch Tank is for individuals or teams who have a completed business plan and have identified a specific minimum viable product or service to offer. Products and business concepts pitched included an autobody repair tool, a healthy option bakery, a veterinary records-sharing service and an online educational platform to teach entrepreneurship.
Winners of the event were:
Community Fast Pitch
- 1st place: CAAT Technologies, Anthony Thompson, Alexander Couch, Austin Walden, and Christy Vanderpool; $2,000 and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 2nd place: Project 369 Recovery, Johnathan Goble Daulton; $1,000 and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 3rd place: Red Headed Princess Designs and Wholly Rustic Crafts, Ericka Johnson; $750 and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 4th place: Helping Hands Cleaning, Jada Clark; $500 and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
Community Pitch Tank
- 1st place (tie): Craftech Innovations, Andrew Godfried and Tony White; $5,000, plus one year of development space at Novaparke and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 1st place (tie): VetNexus, Stacey Konkle; $5,000, plus one year of development space at Novaparke and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 3rd place: Royal Couture Treats Boutique, Minniequa Johnson; $2,500, plus one year membership to Maker 13 and a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
- 4th place: NexTech, Connor Cummings; $1,500 plus a $500 scholarship to IU Southeast.
Judges of the competition included Don Lopp, Floyd County director of operations and county planning, Allen Howie, owner of Ideology, and Lisa Russell, associate professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship management at IU Southeast.
“The Next Big Thing Pitch was a great experience, and the presentations showed the quality of entrepreneurs in the region,” Lopp said in the release. “We are very excited to be housing two ventures — VetNexus and Craftech at Novaparke as inaugural winners of the Next Big Thing and look forward to assisting them in their entrepreneurial journey.”
