Pure Pitch surprise twist: Techweek competition adds pre-teen innovator to KC startup lineup
October 8, 2018 | Startland News Staff
In a surprise announcement Monday, organizers of the Pure Pitch Rally announced the third annual pitch competition would feature the Kansas City pre-teen innovator behind the Storm Sleeper.
Update: Click here to find out who won big at the Pure Pitch Rally.
Donald Hawkins, CitySmart
Julia Luetje — a Barstow School student from Leawood, who at 10 years old won Frito-Lay’s $250,000 Dreamvention grand prize winner for her noise-reduction invention — joins established entrepreneur Donald Hawkins, founder of the white label, SaaS platform CitySmart, and eight early stage startups Wednesday in the fast-paced, invite-only pitch event during Techweek Kansas City.
Click here to learn more about Luetje’s Storm Sleeper device.
Pure Pitch contestants are vying for $30,000 in cash and $500,000 in Amazon AWS Activate credits, as well as $50,000 in tech resources from Full Scale, the high-growth talent development startup helmed by Startup Hustle podcast hosts Matt DeCoursey and Matt Watson. Prizes are awarded by “land sharks,” who each give $1,000 to companies of their choice, but take no equity in exchange.
Startup competitors include:
- Sara Baker, FastDemocracy
- Rhonda Dolan, Üdo
- Brian Kearns, HipHire
- Lauren Lawrence, Stenovate
- Erin Little, Rx Hackers
- Carlanda McKinney, Raaxo
- Kirby Montgomery, TheraWe Connect
- Aubrey Young, Fluence
“For our third year, we have the magic aligned — the land sharks, the funding, the velocity of ideas and our networking mission,” said Karen Fenaroli, founder of Pure Pitch Rally and CEO and founder of talent consultancy Fenaroli & Associates. “Why does the Pure Pitch Rally work in Kansas City? We have a hunger to help others, and this means showing up as mentors, as angel funders and as a community. The pitch works in this great Midwest city because of startup mentor friends like Polsinelli, Circle Sideways, BKD, Amazon and Full Scale.”
Some of the new and returning land sharks include such high-profile funders as Terry Dunn, DD Ranch Ventures; Pam Berneking, chief commercial officer, CommunityAmerica Credit Union; Matt Watson, CEO, Stackify and FullScale.io; Angela Hurt, CEO, Veracity Consulting, Inc.; Scott Hedrick, CEO, Pro Athlete Inc.; Jill Groebl, senior vice president of client services, Intouch Solutions; Ryan Merket, Amazon BD Startups; Lesa Mitchell, managing director, Techstars Kansas City; and Keith Molzer, general partner, Flyover Capital.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Scout charts pre-seed funding from Midwest investors at KCRise Fund, eGrowth Ventures
The just-announced pre-seed round for an emerging innovator in veterinary medicine software is expected to help the Kansas City-built startup deepen its product capabilities, further strengthen its core technology, and strategically grow its team to meet rising demand. “Closing this round gives us the resources and momentum to execute on our mission,” said Dr. Gonzalo…
Keystone launching corporate engagement accelerator to boost low-friction startup collabs
Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem gets its fair share of positive press thanks to a decade of momentum, Kevin McGinnis noted, but the region’s ability to scale innovative ideas to their potential remains stalled because corporations and startups lack an easy on-ramp for collaboration. “We have been listening for years to the ecosystem, to the community,…
Just funded: AltCap Your Biz cycles trio of winners from KC’s diverse hospitality scene
Persistence pays off, said Ruben Alonso, celebrating a decade of the AltCap Your Biz Pitch Competition and its role as an energy boost for Kansas City small businesses. The latest winning founders walked away with $60,000 in checks Wednesday at Union Station. Two of this year’s top three winners were returning finalists, the AltCap CEO…
Innovation check(s): Angels scout potential KC investments at NXTUS nano-pitch event
A startup showcase Tuesday in the heart of Johnson County’s innovation community put impact on display as NXTUS’ Accelerate Venture Partners organized a nano-pitch event for its network of angel investors amid Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City festivities. The Wichita-based entrepreneurial support organization — which has mobilized over $8.5 million for entrepreneurs in the Heartland since…