Published August 15, 2023
Three companies were the big winners in the recent Uinta County Start-Up Challenge Pitch Night.
Webster Mycology, Dare 2B Safe Health & Safety and Momentum Powder Coating were chosen to receive seed funding at the July 31 event, which took place in the Strand Theatre in Evanston. Seed funding will be released against milestones of each company’s business development. The Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP), the Uinta County Economic Development Commission and State Bank provided seed funding.
The Uinta County Start-up Challenge is a startup competition run by IMPACT Uinta, a partnership among the University of Wyoming’s IMPACT 307, Western Wyoming Community College and Rocco O’Neill, community and economic development director for the city of Evanston. The challenge is made possible by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Gov. Mark Gordon’s WIP, the Uinta County Economic Development Commission, the Wyoming Business Council and State Bank.
The winning companies, their founders and a business description are:
— Webster Mycology, founded by Austin, Arryl and Jackie Webster, is a company that provides fresh, high-quality mushrooms and mushroom products. For more information, go to www.webstermycology.com.
— Dare 2B Safe Health & Safety, founded by Lance Norris, provides safety training, fit testing and drug testing for small companies. For more information, go to www.dare2bsafe.com.
— Momentum Powder Coating, founded by Brian and Lindsi Cendejas, is a powder coating shop. For more information, go to www.mpcoats.com.
Webster Mycology also received two additional awards. The Audience Choice Award was presented by the Uinta County Economic Development Commission, and the Job Creator Award was presented by State Bank.
Other finalists that participated in the Pitch Night competition were:
— Five Mile Meats: Hometown Butcher, founded by Tiko and Morgan Heaps, is a meat processor in Evanston.
— Kevin and Sherie Humphrey, founders of Design Simplified, created a portable table with unique features they hope to manufacture and sell.
— Producer’s Paradise, founded by Casey, Jake and Chet Major, is a new U.S. Department of Agriculture beef processor in Lyman.
— Optimal You, founded by Bailey Snyder, is a bioidentical hormone replacement clinic. For more information, go to www.optimalyouwyo.com.
All finalists received business counseling from Monica Patten, assistant director of IMPACT 307. Patten serves southwest Wyoming.
Pitch Night judges were Dan Wheeler, chairman of the Uinta County Economic Development Commission; Gary Welling, GIS coordinator, IT director, planning director and economic development director for Uinta County; and Cody Bateman, CEO of State Bank.
The competition was recorded and can be watched at www.mylocalradio.com/video/uinta-county-start-up-challenge-pitch-night/.
For more information, call Patten at (307) 466-3963 or email monica.patten@uwyo.edu.