Meet 10 finalists for AltCap Your Biz pitch payout; competition returns during GEW KC

A diverse group of nearly a dozen small businesses are advancing to the next round of the annual AltCap Your Biz: Pitch Competition with finalists ranging from a mobile vegan soul food service to a Northland selfie experience.

The “Closing the Deal” live pitch event showcases the 10 best concepts from a pool of 43 submissions, according to AltCap, which is presenting the competition alongside UMB Bank.

Each of the finalists will give a five-minute pitch to a panel of judges on the vision, tactical approach, and needs of their businesses. The winner is expected to receive a $20,000 cash prize and access to AltCap business advisory resources like NeXt Stage KC.

The live event is set to run noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10 during Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City at Plexpod Westport Commons. Winners are expected to be announced at the close of the day’s activities.

Click here to check out all the events planned for GEW KC.

AltCap Your Biz finalists are also competing for the Fan Favorite award. An online audience is encouraged to view the Top 10 pitch videos on the AltCap website and share their votes through the comments section on related AltCap Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter posts. Votes will be accepted until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26.

The finalists (and links to their pitch videos) include:

• Bizzy Babies, Diamond Fuse — Soft playground and bounce house company.

• Cafe Cà Phê, Jackie Nguyen — Kansas City’s first Vietnamese coffee shop.

• Fresh Factory KC, India Wells-Carter — Selfie studio and event space in Zona Rosa.

• Heart and Seoul, Rachel Cayetano — Hand-dyed yarn maker offering products with unique colors and names.

• Legacy Asset Group, Terrell Jolly — Incremental development company focusing on affordable housing solutions.

• MJ Fitness, Shelley Ortiz — Personal training and health coaching gym with an emphasis on mental and physical health journeys.

• Ophelia’s Blue Vine Farm, Mike Rollen — Family-run urban farm in the heart of Kansas City.

• Peak Roofing – Mechanical, Jade Teixeira — Minority-owned, father-daughter-run heating and cooling business servicing residential and commercial HVAC systems.

• Queen’s Kitchen, Allyscia Burton — Mobile food business serving a vegan and pescatarian soul food menu.

• The Ripple, Keith Custer — Online marketplace for buying and selling goods and services where proceeds from transactions go to charities.

AltCap Your Biz is made possible with the support of UMB Bank, Bank of Labor, Insperity, PNC Bank, Kansas City Kansas Hispanic Chamber, and the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City.

Past competition winners include AccessAble Living, Rightfully Sewn, Maker Village, Barefood’n Happy, and Hostel KC.

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This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.

For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn