Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM – View Events Calendar for Live-Streamed link!
IMPACT Casper is excited to announce the 2021 Pitch Night for the 2021 Casper Start-Up Challenge on Tuesday, April 20th, 2021. at 5:00 pm. The event will be held virtually and broadcast with the generous support of Oil City News. The Casper Start-Up Challenge is held by IMPACT Casper, the business incubator and development program in University of Wyoming’s Business Resource Network.
The event is sponsored by Advanced Casper, First Interstate Bank, Hilltop Bank, Oil City News and WIDC Frontier CDC, the Casper Start-Up Challenge is designed to encourage and stimulate more entrepreneurial activity in the Casper area. “Each company has had so much growth since the semifinalist pitch day and I think the judges will be very pleased with how far these companies have come,” said Director Eric Schlidt. The companies were selected as finalists after they pitched to the judges on semifinalist pitch day in February.
All of the finalists have been working closely with Impact Casper staff to develop business models and the final pitch. The four finalists pitching on April 20th include:
· Hathaway Knives, Gabe Hathaway, high end folding knives that are designed, manufactured, and assembled in Casper, Wyoming. We make a diverse selection of knives that fit into many categories of a vast and growing knife industry.
· B3, Perri Meeks & Brayton Sanders, an online web application designed to optimize inventory management for online retail companies. Inventory management refers to the practices of maintaining optimum inventory levels, just enough but not too much. The costs associated with poor inventory management are incredibly high: cost of missed sales, cost of your reputation, cost of tying up cash with stale inventory. With the help of B3, entrepreneurs can feel confident in knowing how long their current inventory will last, when they should order more, and how much. Don’t get caught out of stock!
· WyOlsen Design, Linda Olsen, disabilities affect many people. At WyOlsen Designs we design tools to support homebound caregivers and professional medical staff. We are proud to present Earth Throne, a soft revolution in assistive technology.
· Touchstone Training and Consulting, Emily Farley & Garrett Loyning, provides instruction, testing and hands-on evaluation to meet requirements of Operator Qualification (OQ) in the pipeline industry. We are a small, dedicated team that continues to grow. Providing local, quality, and honest business is our practice.
The finalists will give a 20 minutes presentation followed by questions from the judges. The judging panel includes Brook Kaufman, CEO of Visit Casper; Chris Lorenzen, Director of Public
Relations Casper College; Mary Doherty, President WIDC Frontier CDC; Nicholas Grooms, Shareholder Grooms & Harkins, P.C.; and Shawn Houck, CEO Upslope Media.
At stake is $50,000 in prize money along with a free year in the incubator which allows the companies to continue to work with the IMPACT Casper team and grow their company. Given that IMPACT Casper serves as a hub of innovation and resources for founders of the companies and entrepreneurs of all kinds, this free year is something that will dramatically help the companies make the connections that are lifelong benefits.
“Participating in the Casper Start-Up Challenge is such a valuable process to go through. The quality of the program is excellent. We were provided with some really helpful direction for our business that has guided us through these early days. We were also able to get some starter equipment to help us get our prototypes going thanks to the seed funding. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to get an idea up off the ground,” said Amber Pollock of Piggyback Cocktails, a 2019 Casper Start-Up Challenge finalist and funded company.
The event will be live streamed on Oil City News’ Facebook page so please be sure to set your alarms for Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 at 5:00 pm.