Kiersten Hathcock, founder of Mod Mom Furniture, was on season 2 of Shark Tank.
Kiersten Hathcock is the founder of Mod Mom Furniture.
Lewis County entrepreneurs will soon have a chance to pitch their business ideas to the pros — and earn money for it. The Lewis County Economic Development Council is currently accepting applications for a startup pitch competition this summer.
“We’re focused on scale-able businesses,” said Matt Matayoshi, executive director of Lewis County EDC. “We’re focused on people who will make a footprint and contribute to our economy.”
The “Smart Tank” competition, based on ABC’s Shark Tank show, will take place from June 7-9 at TransAlta Student Commons at Centralia College. The first day is a reception with stakeholders, sponsors and participants that will not be open to the public. Friday is dedicated to refining pitches and on Saturday the finalists will pitch their companies. There will be $3,000 in scholarship money and another $3,500 in cash prizes for contestants.
“We are not taking an equity stake in businesses,” Matayoshi said. “This is about support and advice and how to move businesses forward.”
A series of workshops on Friday will feature Kiersten Hathcock, who is the founder and CEO of Mod Mom Furniture; Scott Hathcock, president and CEO of Moonshot at NACET; Paul Thomas, who is CEO in residence at Moonshot and Dan Kasprzyk, founder and CEO of POBA Medical.
Matayoshi said eight applicants have signed up so far. Some of the businesses include one for semi truck accessories, a few health food supplement companies and a couple that are still in the idea phase.
“When most folks come to something like this, they have a great idea, but don’t know how to execute,” Kiersten Hathcock said. “They don’t know the business side of it, or how to market it. I would say that is the number one obstacle is teaching that piece of it. The other obstacle I feel is not knowing the market and how to market globally. It’s opening the mind up a little bit and looking at that larger scale.”
Hathcock, who was on “Shark Tank” season 2, will be the keynote speaker.
“The event itself is split into different modules,” Hathcock said. “If you want to pitch, you have to know how to do that. A lot of folks don’t know how to pitch so we give them tips on how to do that.”
The competition finalists will make a five-minute pitch on Saturday, June 9 at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“I have a soft spot for entrepreneurs,” Hathcock said. “I know what it takes; I know how difficult it is. There is no way I should have been successful — I literally started a business out of my garage.”
Smart Tank candidates must submit an online application or post a two-minute pitch video about their idea on YouTube by Tuesday, May 29. Individuals interested in participating in the event may contact Rebecca Tripp by sending an email to rebecca@lewisedc.com or calling 360-748-0114.
