Northwest Iowa — A trio of KIWA listening area entrepreneurs are among the five finalists in the BIG Challenge competition.
The BIG Challenge encourages entrepreneurs to Build, Innovate, and Grow their business in northwest Iowa. The contest gives entrepreneurs and small business owners the opportunity to submit their dreams to start or expand a business, then encourage friends, family, and customers to vote for them online. The finalists will present their idea to an audience and judges in a pitch-off event for a chance to win thousands in cash prizes.
The five finalists are Brittany Maassen of Midwest Designs in Sheldon, Will and Macy Freidrichsen of Freidrichsen Locker Project in Sutherland, Shari Wollmuth of Wollmuth Insurance in Sibley, Marissa Molland of Hardly General of Moville and Bernabe Mendoza of Lovechatas from Sioux City.
The economic development organizations in Northwest Iowa will host the pitch-off event on Thursday, November 18th at the Willow Creek Golf Course (935 Park Lane) in Le Mars. A social hour with food and beverages will begin at 5:00 p.m. During this time, each finalist will have a booth set up to showcase their business for attendees to visit. At 6:00 p.m. each finalist will have 6 minutes to present their business, followed by 5 minutes of Q & A from the panel of judges. The winners of the competition will be announced at 7:30 p.m. with first place receiving $5,000, second place receiving $2,500, third place receiving $1,500, and fourth and fifth places receiving $500 to help grow their businesses.
The BIG Challenge is sponsored and organized by Iowa’s West Coast Initiative and Northwest Iowa Developers and includes the following counties: Lyon, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury. Siouxland Economic Development Corporation is also a sponsor of the event. The event is free and open to the public. Additional information about each entry and the finalists can be found by visiting contest.iawestcoast.com/the-big-challenge/.
