Northwest Iowa — Finalists have been announced in an annual northwest Iowa entrepreneur contest.
Earlier this month, 13 entrepreneurs submitted their ideas to start or expand their business in the BIG Challenge grant competition and recruited family, friends, and customers to vote for their entry. (BIG stands for Build, Innovate, and Grow) And most of them are from our part of northwest Iowa. Nearly half of the contestants were from Lyon County.
Over 5,000 total votes were cast. The top three vote getters, along with two additional entrants chosen by a selection committee, will advance to the pitch competition. The finalists will have the opportunity to present their idea to an audience and judges in a pitch event for a chance to win thousands in cash prizes. The top-three vote getters were
- Jessica Knobloch of 4:13 Protein in Rock Rapids, with 941 votes
- Priscilla Kenowith of The Market at Shop near the Corner LLC in Le Mars, with 761 votes
- Kayla Engleman of Next Level Health and Fitness in Rock Rapids, with 698 votes
The two entrants chosen by the selection committee were
- Jennifer Schwade of Route 10 Drive-In in Hawarden (257 votes)
- Charmaine Regino of Sewn 2 Dance in Sioux City (123 votes)
Those five finalists will participate in the pitch event.
Other entrants were
- Nick Shaffer of Suds In The Bucket in Hartley with 466 votes
- Dylan Vanden Top of VT’s 3D Prints in George with 399 votes
- Stan Wissink of Pixel Six Graphics in Rock Rapids with 358 votes
- Jebadia Downard of Dreamerz Restaurant in Rock Rapids with 211 votes
- Jackie & Steve Wells of FORE on 75 in Rock Rapids with 170 votes
- Omar Munoz of River City Silent Disco in Sioux City with 85 votes
- Trevor Wheelock of Lucky Break LLC in Sioux City with 71 votes
- Kelsie Garrett of IssuesUp Solutions LLC in Hinton with 61 votes
The economic development organizations in Northwest Iowa will host the pitch-off event on Thursday, November 20th, at the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor (115 Central Ave. NW) 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 $3,000, and third place receiving $2,000, to help grow their businesses.
