Three Southern West Virginia entrepreneurs offered winning pitches on Tuesday night at WVU Tech of their business plans for start-up or expansion and were rewarded with cash prizes and the affirmation their ideas may be worthy to implement.
Winners selected by the judges and audience included:
Hills to Hills Shuttles & Tours, Adena Joy, Fayette County, first place – $2,000; sponsored by United Bank.
Mountain Mama Stitchery, Ruschelle Khanna, Raleigh County, second place – $1,000, sponsored by the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority.
Botany Tropicals, Jordan Casey, Summers County, third place – $500, and winner of best STEM-related idea, $750 and STEM-focused technical assistance provided by the WV Hive; sponsored by NRGRDA.
Each award winner also received a gift card from Domino’s of Beckley, Daniels and Fayetteville. Funding support for the event was provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
“All of our entrepreneurs were impressive tonight,” said Diana Woods, director of the WVU Tech Launch Lab and coordinator of the event. “The judges had really difficult decisions to make.”
Judy Moore, deputy director at the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) and executive director of the WV Hive, joined WVU Tech president Carolyn Long in welcoming the presenters as well as the panel of judges representing serial entrepreneurs, investors, representatives from lending institutions, legal advisors and educators.
Judges for the event were:
Jina Belcher, executive director, New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, and chairman of the board, WV Hive
Kevin Combs, chief executive officer, Molecular Biologicals, and co-founder and chairman of the board, Country Roads Angel Network
Dr. Kyung Moon Kim, associate professor – Department of Accounting and Management, WVU Tech, and advisor to the WVU Tech Entrepreneurship Club
Melanie Leach, branch manager, Beckley, United Bank
Dr. Angela Peterson, assistant professor – Department of Accounting and Management
John Williams, staff attorney and program director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic (EILC), West Virginia University College of Law
The West Virginia Hive, in partnership with the WVU Tech Launch Lab, hosted the in-person Pitch Southern West Virginia competition after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19.
Moore said the business idea competition was open to entrepreneurs of new start-ups and businesses in operation for less than three years. Eligibility was limited to residents or businesses located in Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Summers, Braxton, Webster, Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, Wyoming, and McDowell counties, along with WVU Tech students.