BrightStar and NEWaukee Partner with Marshfield Young Professionals for Business Startup Pitch, HATCH
submitted to FOCUS – HATCH is a community-based startup pitch platform that aims to convert strong ideas into business plans, and in turn launch new companies in Central Wisconsin.
At HATCH, 3-5 presenters have five minutes to pitch their brightest business idea in front of judges and a live audience. The audience has a chance to evaluate and vote for their favorite idea alongside the judges. The winner receives $2,000 in cash and an invitation to attend the end of year finale to compete against the other winners from previous programs.
The winners’ event will offer the opportunity for the 4 semi-finalists to pitch their concepts, hopefully with more articulation, and attempt to win a $10,000 grand prize. However, there will be a wildcard pitcher at the finale!
So even if someone doesn’t win, if they keep furthering their idea, they may be selected to pitch at the finale.
Beyond the prize money, this is a chance to get the business idea that has been rattling around in your head out in front of a supportive community. HATCH events are fun, highly social and inspirational. They also create an entrepreneurial atmosphere, getting like-minded people in one room to discuss ideas alongside resources like SCORE, WEDC, or possibly an angel investor too. Apply here by July 12. RSVP to watch here.
Judges at the Marshfield event include: Brenda Dillenburg (Dean at Mid-State Technical College), Mark Nelson (Owner of Microscopy Innovations), Michael Agarwal (CIO at PreventionGenetics), David Meisner (Former Owner of Norm-E-Lane Farms), and Karen Olson (MACCI Business Development Director), as well as a representative from BrightStar. Mayor Chris Meyer will also help host the event.
Three pitch events have taken place since April and the fourth will be on July 19th in Marshfield. The event starts at 6pm inside the former Hudson’s Building at 12 N. Central Ave.
Wisconsin is constantly ranked at the bottom among states for startup activity and Marshfield is no exception. HATCH aims to ignite a culture of entrepreneurship in Wisconsin – and hopefully one day, people will seek out Marshfield as the go to place to start their business because it’s known as an area that welcomes and fosters new ideas.
Partnerships across the state have made HATCH possible, bringing together Brightstar Wisconsin Foundation, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and NEWaukee.
A series of organizations have taken the lead in organizing the HATCH events in their areas, including MCDEVCO in Wausau, Ignite Leadership Network of Portage County in Stevens Point, Marshfield Young Professionals, and Current Young Professionals of Wisconsin Rapids.
Summary of Previous Events
Stevens Point | Wednesday, April 26th
A crowded historic firehouse in Stevens Point was the site of five business pitches Wednesday night. The winning pitch, Leak Siphon Flush Valve, took home $2,000 to advance their business idea.The firehouse saw a sold out crowd of 100+ people.
Jurors were: Mike Wiza – City of Stevens Point Mayor; Brian Cole – SVP, Finance & Operations at Red Arrow Labs; Dan Blumenstein – Director of Client Support at Rack Industrial, LLC; Missy Skurzewski-Servant – Dean, General Education & Business at Mid-State Technical College; Vicki Lobermeier – Associate Lecturer, Adjunct Faculty at UW-Stevens Point School of Business & Economics; and Todd Sobotka – Managing Director at BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation.
The winning pitch, Leak Siphon Flush Value, aims to reduce leaky toilets to zero waste. Peter Parker and Landis Brozak stated, “Leaky toilets are the biggest water wasters and leak up to 200 gallons per day. There are 250 million toilets in the US that leak 25 billion gallons per year. We have developed a simple flush valve that can reduce this leakage to ZERO.”
Other pitches included:
Mysa | Jeff Rice – An online shared-economy platform that helps business owners understand their hurdles and connects them with freelancers who can help.
Permyt | Kyle Konieczka – Automated municipal permit issuance.
Destination 180 | Monte Condrack – A social entrepreneurship business that develops moderate to high-end tiny houses for people in need.
Feed Manager | Carl Lippert – An app that helps farmers manage their livestock feed.
Wisconsin Rapids | Wednesday, May 24th
A large crowd gathered in Golden Eagle Log Homes cabin and showroom for the Wisconsin Rapids HATCH event on Wednesday, May 24th. The winning pitch was made by Stevens Point-based Arbre Tech.
The jurors were: Tod Strong – Management Coach and Consultant at Writing Enterprises, filling in for Jenny Harms – Director of Community Investment at Incourage; Adam Tegen – Community Development Director for the City of Wisconsin Rapids; Carla Lenk – Job and Business Development Coordinator at North Central Community Action Program; Heather Grys-Luecht – Workforce Solutions Coordinator at Mid-State Technical College; Tom Shannon – President and CEO at BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation; and Todd Sobotka – Managing Director at BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation.
The winning pitch, Arbre Tech, aims to automate the data tracking processes used in tree nurseries. Matthieu Vollmer and Ben Meyers created a product that offers real-time inventory tracking, reducing labor costs and creating time for arborist to invest in specialized and technical processes. Arbre Tech will advance to the HATCH finale and pitch for $10,000 on November 9th, 2017.
Other pitches included:
Magnetag | Adam Cohen and Jason Hilleshiem – An electronic scoring for foam combat. Players wear unique sensor armor and battle each other with foam swords, darts, and ninja stars.
Caboosee | Emily Blomberg – Baby onesie and pajama technology that allows for an opening across the back, just above the diaper, making it possible to easily check a diaper without removing the clothing.
VR Cafe | Andrew Matson – A virtual reality cafe.
Wausau | Thursday, June 22
A packed house at the YWCA for the Wausau HATCH event on Thursday, June 22nd.
The jurors were: Dan Timm – Vice President SBA, Government Lending, River Valley Bank; Ann Werth – former City of Wausau Economic Development Director; Kevin Eichelberger – Owner, Red Eye Brewing Company and Patina Coffeehouse; Kimberly Reed – Business Instructor, Northcentral Technical College/Former Owner, Wausau to Go; Tom Shannon – President & CEO, BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation; and Erik Rajek – Assistant Vice President, Business Development Officer, Byline Bank.
The winning pitch, Unpublished.io, is a web platform for building and sharing research projects. Unpublished.io will advance to the HATCH finale and pitch for $10,000 on November 9th, 2017.
Other pitches included:
PynPoints | Scott Gile – An app that delivers time and location-relevant messaging/advertising.
Gater App | Marko Knezic – A social media aggregation app that makes it easy for users of all experience levels to create topical, timely and dynamic content for all their social media channels simultaneously by bringing the most popular content creation features and information together in one utility.
Imaginar Mobile Escape Room | Rachel Jean Davis – A modular and movable escape room experience.
For more information about HATCH, to submit an idea or to become a resource partner, please visit: www.hatchwi.com
