It’s sweet victory for Brown Suga; KC’s favorite cookie crew wins AltCap Your Biz (and a $25K treat)

After winning the $25,000 grand prize at Wednesday’s AltCap Your Biz pitch competition, Brown Suga will get some cookie-shaped new wheels, shared founder Ebony Paul.

Ebony and Reba Paul pitch Brown Suga during the 2024 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Before opening a brick-and-mortar in Olathe, the cookie bakery launched in 2020 selling at pop-ups and community events. Adding a food truck will help Brown Suga continue to hit the road and celebrate life’s sweetest moments by delivering desserts that bring love, joy and connection, continued Paul, who co-owns the bakery with her sister, Asia Lockett.

“We’re in Olathe, but as we’ve done pop-up events over the last four years, we’ve grown a customer base in Kansas City, Missouri,” she explained. “So it allows the opportunity to continue to serve that customer base and then also do more corporate catering events in our truck.”

From the archives: ‘People eat with their eyes first’: Why pop-ups were just a sample of this new bakery’s appeal

The AltCap Your Biz Pitch Competition — now in its ninth year — fuels Kansas City innovators, giving them the opportunity to pitch their business and win big during Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City with cash prizes to accelerate their growth.

“The hard work that went into this, I feel like we really put our best foot forward,” Paul said.

Selected from 99 video submissions, 10 finalists pitched their businesses in front of five judges. Five social impact ventures also competed for the Change Maker Award.

“I’m always so looking forward to the AltCap Your Biz pitch competition every single year because you guys show out,” said Shanee Kimber, event judge and UMB Bank vice president of community business banking.

Winners of the 2024 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

James Spikes and Taylor Burris, founders of AI Hub, pitch during the 2024 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

James Spikes and Taylor Burris — founders of AI Hub, an art Incubator that empowers creatives to start, grow, and legitimize their ideas by providing services, resources, and paid opportunities — secured the second place prize of $10,000. The husband-and-wife team also competed in in the 2023 AltCap pitch competition.

“That’s why we made our shirts, ‘It’s only over when you quit,’” Burris noted. “We decided not to quit, and we wanted to come back better and stronger and take in the feedback from the judges.”

The duo learned from last year that they needed to focus on improving the business, not improving as people, Spikes said.

“We are the people to make this business work,” he explained. “But in order to come here, to win and to actually have a viable business and not just win a pitch competition, we had to work on our business and not just be good at explaining what we want to do. We had to put the action in. So we did a little bit more of that throughout the year to get here.”

ICYMI: AI Hub’s art incubator is leaving River Market, taking over top floor of renovated PHKC space

Atticus Sloan delivers his pitch for E-Z Pedicabs during the 2024 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

E-Z Pedicabs — which enhances short-range urban travel for people and businesses using pedicabs to connect disconnected parts of the city — was voted the Fan Favorite and received a $2,500 prize.

“E-Z Pedicabs was inspired by my 12-year-old Great Dane Boo,” founder Atticus Sloan said in his pitch. “Due to an injury, it became hard for Boo to get around. I wanted to make him more mobile and bring him with me, so I built him a wagon to give him the joy and freedom of a bike ride. Having this shared experience, it inspired my passion for building connections and making memories through mobility roadblocks.”

Craig Mason, Raise Health Innovations, stands with the $5,000 Change Maker Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Raise Health Innovations received The Change Maker Award: a $5,000 prize awarded to the entrepreneur who demonstrates the most significant potential to create meaningful change in the community.

“These entrepreneurs have demonstrated a deep commitment to social impact in Kansas City through their mission,” organizers said of the finalists for the award, which is now in its second year.

Raise Health’s AI solution, DASH, combines lived experiences and evidence-based research to provide real-time mental health detection, enabling early identification, better engagement, and effective support by analyzing communication patterns.

“It’s really cool to be part of an event like this and to see all these groups catalyzed through this amazing event,” shared Craig Mason, founder of Raise Health.

Check out a photo gallery from the pitch contest and awards, then keep reading.

Additional pitchers who competed Thursday included: 

• Spirit Life Apparel & Screenprinting, Debra Smith — Specializes in screen printing, embroidery, and sublimation to deliver custom apparel with style and creativity, helping clients express their unique identity with top-quality, personalized designs.

• Family and Friends Lawn Service, Raphael Frazier — A one-person company that provides lawn care services to the KC Metro area.

• Drill Green KC, Brenda Ochoa-Burciaga — A construction company that installs conduit and fiber for internet services in the metro area and rural communities.

• MOC BOD, Christy Vincent — A “masculine of center” brand focusing on products that offer traditional masculine scents — but outside of the men’s section and accessible to all. A proudly LGBTQ+ business, MOC BOD’s brick and mortar also offers a physical space for like-minded entrepreneurs and their ventures, including a tattoo shop, hair salon, massage studio, and tailor.

• Third Place Lounge, Amanda Blancarte — Serves unique drinks and hosts fun, free events and collaborations with local artists to foster connections in the community.

• Golazo, Lesly Romo — Creates unique, competitive, social soccer experiences with variations of soccer from all over the world.

• CRWND Illustrations, Keliah Smith — Sells signature designs and products ranging from wall art, vibrant tote bags, hand-crafted greeting cards, notebooks, stickers, and stationery to empower and uplift women of ethnic and multi-cultural backgrounds.

Additional Change Maker Award finalists included:

• Loyal Academy, Norma Loya — Empowers the community through education in the technological and digital area and to give them the resources and tools necessary to achieve professional and personal success.

• A Traveled Path Homes, Shapree’ Marshall — Committed to addressing healthcare inequities by providing safe, affordable, and convenient housing for traveling medical professionals, enabling them to focus on patient care in underserved communities.

• Equal Minded Cafe & Event Center, Dontavious Young — Creates a safe and welcoming space where diverse cultures and backgrounds come together to form lasting relationships. It supports local artists, activists, and creatives by giving them the opportunity to host pop-ups, showcase their work, and perform for the first time.

• Embrace Your Shine, Rosana Polanco — Addresses hidden homelessness in Kansas City by providing stable housing, support services, and resources, empowering young adults to turn their passions into professions while promoting long-term stability through job training, education, and healthcare access, ultimately creating a positive community impact.