Seven Finalists Named for Uinta County Start-Up Challenge Pitch Night

Seven finalist companies will compete in the Uinta County Start-Up Challenge Pitch Night, scheduled Monday, July 31, at 5:30 p.m. in the Strand Theatre, located at 1028 Main St. in Evanston. The event is free and open to the public.

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 Economic Development Administration, Gov. Mark Gordon’s Wyoming Innovation Partnership, the Uinta County Economic Development Commission, the Wyoming Business Council and State Bank.

Finalists that will participate in the Pitch Night competition are:

-- Momentum Powder Coating, founded by Brian and Lindsi Cendejas, is a powder coating shop. For more information, go to www.mpcoats.com.

-- Five Mile Meats: Hometown Butcher, founded by Tiko and Morgan Heaps, will be a meat processor in Evanston.

-- Design Simplified, founded by Kevin and Sherie Humphrey, created a portable table with unique features they hope to manufacture and sell.

-- Producer’s Paradise, founded by Casey, Jake and Chet Major, will be a new U.S. Department of Agriculture beef processor in Lyman.

-- Dare 2B Safe Health & Safety, founded by Lance Norris, provides safety training, fit testing and drug testing for smaller employers. For more information, go to www.dare2bsafe.com

-- Optimal You, founded by Bailey Snyder, is a bioidentical hormone replacement clinic. For more information, go to www.optimalyouwyo.com/contact/.

-- Webster Mycology, founded by A. 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.

Winners will receive seed funding, which will be released against milestones of each company’s business development. Finalist round judges were excited by the number of talented and motivated entrepreneurs and had a difficult time choosing a smaller group of finalists. Finalist round judges were Dan Wheeler, chairman of the Uinta County Economic Development Commission; Jayson Bailey, co-owner of CWG Digital Marketing; Dave O’Connell, State Bank business development manager; and Gary Welling, GIS coordinator, IT director, planning director and economic development director for Uinta County.

Finalists will continue to receive mentorship from IMPACT 307 and marketing strategy consultations from CWG Digital Marketing. 

Semifinalist companies that made the finalist round, but did not advance to Pitch Night, are:

-- Uinta Pressure Washing & Services, founded by Keyon Amirkhizi and Elijah Williams, is a company that provides power-washing service for homes.

-- Stephanie and Shad Anderson created an as-yet-unnamed company that specializes in wellness tourism.

-- My Local Rodeo, founded by Val Cook and Matt Petrie, is a streaming service for high school rodeo.

-- Wyoming Cartage, founded by Doug Knighton, is a logistics and warehousing business.

-- Lark Cab Service, founded by Sarah McBride-Kramer, is a transportation service within Evanston and to Utah medical facilities. Go to the company’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EvanstonTaxiCab/.

-- Neurodivergent Outreach, founded by Megan Neilson and Megan Young, provides networking and events for families with disabilities. Go to the company’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/people/Neurodivergent-Outreach/100087966720242/.    

Thirty-eight applications initially were received in the Uinta County Start-Up Challenge’s first year. That list was whittled to 18 semifinalist companies, which were chosen from applications which follow the Lean Launchpad methodology. However, five companies exited the competition before the finalist round. During the semifinalist round, each company defined a customer’s problem; proposed a solution for that problem; and discussed the ideal customer for their product or service. 

Cody Bateman, CEO of State Bank; state Rep. Jon Conrad; and Jayson and Erica Bailey, owners of CWG Digital Marketing, and Wheeler judged the semifinal rounds.

Semifinalists are receiving mentorship from IMPACT 307 and had the opportunity to participate in a business bootcamp, which was open to the public and held May 20 at the Strand Theatre. Attendees received pertinent business information from local experts. Legal presenters were attorneys Thayne Peterson and Geoff Phillips. Nate Sponenburgh, a CPA, covered accounting topics. Banking information was presented by State Bank representatives Bateman, O’Connell and Taylor Siemers, a loan officer. CWG Digital Marketing owners Jayson and Erica Bailey gave attendees a crash course in streamlining the digital marketing process.

For more information, call Monica Patten, assistant director of IMPACT 307, at (307) 466-3963 or email monica.patten@uwyo.edu.