SCORE Announces Winners of its Small Business Pitch Competition in Des Moines

Summary: SCORE announced the three winners of its 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition held in Des Moines on Sept. 12, 2024. The event, part of a nationwide series, awarded $20,000 to the first-place winner, $10,000 to the second and $5,000 to the third, while also providing them with invaluable exposure and mentorship.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Sept. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, announced the three winning small business owners from its 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition held on Sept. 12, 2024 at Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, one of the host cities of the nationwide event. The competition is an avenue for small business owners to showcase their presentation and selling skills to industry experts, win funding and gain valuable knowledge and mentorship, all at no cost. More than 2,200 small business owners applied to participate.

The three winning businesses in the Des Moines pitch event are:

First Place:
Scott Massey — Anu, Evansville, IN

Heliponix, LLC (doing business as Anu™) specializes in innovative indoor farming solutions using patented Rotary Aeroponics® technology. Their flagship product, the Pure Produce® Container, integrates advanced farming systems with Self-Nurturing™ Seed Pods and AI-enabled monitoring. This technology addresses food insecurity and resource challenges by providing scalable, energy-efficient farming solutions for both residential and commercial users. Scott earned the top prize of $20,000 for his pitch. He plans to use his prize to cover patent and intellectual property expenses and to create new AI development roles, fostering inclusive growth and leveraging diverse talents for advancing their technology.

Second Place:

Katie Olthoff — ChopLocal, Wayland, IA

ChopLocal is a SaaS-enabled marketplace designed to support livestock producers, small meat processors and consumers. It offers an online platform similar to Etsy, where vendors can sell their meat products directly to consumers. The service includes marketing and technology support to help vendors effectively reach and serve their customers. ChopLocal aims to revive local meat supply chains and simplify online meat purchasing. Katie earned $10,000 for her pitch, which she plans to use to increase the marketing budget to attract more consumers, support the platform’s growth, and enhance the reach and visibility of ChopLocal’s vendors.

Third Place:

Tony Horner – Fermented Felon, Bellevue, NE

Fermented Felon is a kombucha tea company founded by Tony Horner, who turned his life around from a troubled past to become an entrepreneur. The company offers a range of unique kombucha flavors and focuses on growth and quality, with plans to expand into new metropolitan areas. They emphasize fresh, flavorful kombucha that avoids the common vinegar taste. Tony received $5,000 for his pitch. He will use the prize to support the company’s expansion into new markets, including purchasing supplies, equipment and hiring additional employees to facilitate growth.

“Congratulations to the winners of our 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition event in Des Moines,” said SCORE CEO Bridget Weston. “These incredible entrepreneurs embody the innovation, creativity and hard work it takes to achieve small business dreams. SCORE is proud to have supported them with mentorship and resources as we have helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs over the past 60 years.”

As part of the pitch competition, contestants were matched with one of SCORE’s free, expert business mentors to guide them to prepare and deliver a compelling pitch.

Judging criteria included the effectiveness of the presentation, brand identification, uniqueness and viability of the product or service, the thoroughness of the business plan, scalability and any sustainability or social impact. Financials were also assessed on overall potential.

Shellie Peters, Head of Benefits and Charitable Giving at Global Atlantic, said, “We’re proud supporters of SCORE’s Des Moines pitch competition and are excited to celebrate the innovative spirit of the local business community. Global Atlantic has deep roots in Des Moines and we’re excited to have had this opportunity to support the entrepreneurs and small businesses that will drive the local economy forward. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!”

The 10 finalists from the Des Moines pitch event also included:

• Denise Greenhaw – NextGen Motors of Muscatine (Muscatine, IA)
• Christy Vincent – MOC BOD, LLC (Kansas City, MO)
• Dakota Belling – Bovi-Jet (Granger, IA)
• Abby Miller – Pat on Tap (Mead, NE)
• Juperi Johnson – Kena Wrap, LLC (Albuquerque, NM)
• Caitlin Hainley – Des Moines Midwife Collective (Des Moines, IA)
• Tiffany Jones – Cake Charming, LLC (Oswego, IL)

For more information or to download photos of the event, click here for the press kit.

In addition to Des Moines, SCORE is hosting regional in-person pitch events in Los Angeles (Sept. 26), and Houston (Oct. 3), as well as a national virtual contest (Sept. 17-18). A previous pitch competition in Philadelphia on Aug. 28 kicked off the series. To learn more or register to attend any of these events, visit the 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition page on SCORE.org.

To schedule interviews with winners of SCORE’s Des Moines 60^th Anniversary Pitch Competition, finalists, mentors, or representatives from SCORE, please contact [email protected].

To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit score.org.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow or successfully exit a business. SCORE’s 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. Visit SCORE at www.score.org.  

Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Media Contact
Maria Coder, SCORE, 954-379-211, [email protected], https://www.score.org

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