AltCap Your Biz reveals 10 finalists vying for $25K grand prize at cornerstone GEWKC event
October 23, 2023 | Startland News Staff
A competition aimed at mobilizing the next generation of entrepreneurs and social innovators — along with awarding more than $40,000 in cash prizes to its winners — announced Monday the 10 finalists vying for its 2023 honors.
AltCap Your Biz returns to the stage Thursday, Nov. 16 at Plexpod Westport at Park 39 as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City’s lineup of top-tier entrepreneur-focused events. The competition begins at 3 p.m. Nov. 16 with company pitches, followed by an awards and prize money reveal at 6 p.m.
Ruben Alonso speaks during the 2022 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
Click here to register for the competition or here for the awards reception.
RELATED: Check out GEWKC’s just-launched, weeklong event lineup with 100+ sessions
“The judges and our team were blown away by the passion, creativity and impact of this year’s applicants,” officials from AltCap said in an announcement of the finalists. “Judges deliberated for many hours over three days to review nearly 80 entrepreneurs’ pitches.”
The 10 finalists will compete for first place, $25,000; second place, $10,000; the Change Maker Award (best community impact business plan), $5,000; and Fan Favorite (social media and in-person voting), $2,500.
Supporters can watch the finalists’ pitches, then vote for their favorite by visiting AltCap’s Facebook page or by clicking the “Watch the pitch” links below by Nov. 10. (Editor’s note: Not all pitches have been posted, but links will be updated as AltCap rolls out the finalists on Facebook.)
2023 AltCap Your Biz finalists include:
- Co-Angler (John Bledsoe), Springfield, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- CodeAlgo (Triumfia Houmbie Fulks), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- Nexodesk (Jimmy James, Lopez Maradiaga), Kansas City, Kansas — Watch the pitch
- The Black Pantry (Brian Roberts), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- The AI Hub (James Spikes, Taylor Burris), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- The Next Paige (Elaina Thomas), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- Venboo (Juaquan Herron), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- Vine Street Brewing (Kemet Coleman), Kansas City, Missouri — Watch the pitch
- Wrax (Frankie Elder-Reedy), Pleasanton, Kansas — Watch the pitch
- Yes! Athletics (Deb North), Topeka, Kansas — Watch the pitch
Now in its 8th year, AltCap Your Biz has awarded a total of more than $200,000 to entrepreneurs building successful companies, enriching their communities and pursuing their dreams.
Certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), AltCap is a source of alternative financing for communities and entrepreneurs that fall outside the financial mainstream.
Featured Business
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Vintage-inspired Relikcs streams ‘anti-technology’ into the digital age with high-end audio furniture
A line of West Bottoms-built, high-end stereo consoles capitalizes on a gold rush for vinyl nostalgia, said Paul Suquet, noting their vintage-inspired business bridges the gap between a digital era and “the beauty of analog sound.” “Music is something that connects us,” added Dan Posch, one of Suquet’s partners at Relikcs Furniture, a local maker…
These KC nonprofits showed resiliency; their reward: $200K grants from Bank of America
Bank of America this fall continued the 20-year run for its Neighborhood Builder grants program, awarding two Kansas City nonprofits with $200,000 grants and access to exclusive leadership training resources and a national network of nonprofit peers. The 2024 honorees are Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy and Cultivate Kansas City — tapped for their work…
This entrepreneur jams Special Olympics advocacy (and a little chicory) into his Missouri storefront
Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it. EDINA, Missouri — Jared Niemeyer started making homemade jam to…
How a crowdfunding site is adding extra cheddar to Buffalo State Pizza’s relocation plans
Confidence is already in the box for Buffalo State Pizza Co.’s owners as they look to everyday investors to help their business complete and grow into a new space near downtown Overland Park, they said. The duo — Philippe Lechevin and Steve Robson — launched a campaign this fall on the crowdfunding site Honeycomb Credit…