Billy Brown, founder of Wall Eye Solutions, was the winner of the 2021 Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition.
Monique Quarterman
Seven startup companies will compete for grand prize of $10,000 at this year's Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition at the SOAR Focus Summit.
In a news release, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) said there was a record 37 applicants for the competition, which was narrowed down to the seven below. The second place winner will receive $3,500 and third place will get $1,500.
The event, presented by Community Trust Bancorp, will be held Thursday at the First Federal Center on the campus of Hazard Community and Technical College.
Get to know the companies and their founders:
- Elizabeth Schroer, founder of Reimagines, a family-owned and operated custom design and print shop located in Somerset, Kentucky. It specializes in large format printing and UV printing services.
- Justin and Kristen Matthews, founders of Eridanus Brewing, a craft beer and herbal tea tap house in Russell, Kentucky. Eridanus Brewing is housed in a historic Kentucky train depot along the Ohio River, complete with a mysterious bullet hole window story and loads of historic charm.
- Kyle Mann, founder and CEO of UpScore Test Prep, which provides individual and school-based courses that support college and career readiness for all students. Mann, a resident of Columbia, Kentucky, is also a practicing dentist in Liberty, Kentucky.
- Payton Keathly, founder of Xiled Inc., a site that offers a one-stop-shop for social gaming clan experiences by offering management tools and opportunities for clans. Keathly, a resident of Pikeville, Kentucky, works in competitive e-sports and a variety of high-profile projects, including XGN and FindAClan.com.
- Dakota Hoskins, founder of Safari Solutions, a startup focused on high-tech car wash innovations. The company's barcode scanner module enables car wash operators to add barcode scanning capabilities to any existing kiosk, providing greater efficiency and profitability for car wash owners.
- Kevin Poole, founder and CEO of Hemp Cattle Company, a Clark County, Kentucky-based farm. Poole, a ninth-generation farmer, has developed products to increase farm efficiency and treat animals more humanely that he hopes to scale to allow other family farms to work more productively and stay operational.
- Charles Young and Daniel Greider, co-founders of EmreeSoft, a software startup in Grayson, Kentucky. Its online review management product is expected to launch later this year.
