Next week’s Sheridan Start-Up Challenge Pitch Night promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening for those interested in hearing more about our Sheridan community’s great new business ideas.
The 2023 Challenge will be the seventh edition of IMPACT 307’s annual entrepreneurial competition, and it promises to be one of the best. $100,000 in new business seed funding is at stake. I will take this opportunity to preview the Challenge by providing short overviews of the five business plans to be presented.
First up will be Big Horn Records, founded by Shawn Day. Shawn has a vision to establish a record label that will be available to talented Wyoming music artists. In a rural state like ours, it’s difficult to get enough promotion to make a career in performing arts. Big Horn Records would like to solve that problem and free up time for musicians to create appealing content that will attract an increasing number of fans. This business could greatly enhance Wyoming’s growing creative economy.
IMPACT 307 has seen a trend of firearms related businesses as the industry continues to build momentum in Wyoming. Our recent Casper and Cody competitions have each had winners from this sector in the past year. Sheridan now has an entrant with Scott Van Dorsten, founder of Van Dorsten Custom Firearms. Scott has become an expert in scout rifles, a light, compact, general-purpose rifle. He’s developed a rifle scope mount that will convert most bolt action rifles into a scout rifle, and other innovations such as a spare magazine that will fit in the contours of a rifle butt stock.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, e-commerce activity soared worldwide. Our third Challenge finalist is NotFoundBot, co-founded by Travis Todd and Matt Elliott. They are developing a software tool that uses artificial intelligence powered redirection to assist ecommerce-based businesses and consumers that experience “404 not found” errors. Type an extra character into a web search address, and this error message will occur. The goal of NotFoundBot is to preserve a customer search and ultimately increase the chances of completing a sales transaction between a customer and an online business.
Pilot Project Solutions is our fourth Sheridan Challenge finalist. The founder, Bret Noecker, is leading an effort to convert municipal landfill waste to valuable carbon-based products such as graphite or graphene using a microwave-based plasma gasification system. This innovative waste management solution would not only extend the life of area landfills, but also provide some revenue generation potential for municipalities and governments through the sale of products that have appeal to regional markets.
Our last Challenge finalist is IXNAY. Ixnay, you say? This is the name of a new phone app, being developed by founder Anna Bailey, that will scan product barcodes and provide on-the-spot food content information that will flag users about any ingredients that are harmful (think food allergies) or not preferred for consumption. Given the additives that are in many foods that we eat, this app will allow consumers to quickly make informed decisions on the products they purchase while pursuing safe and healthy diets.
Each of our five finalists are working hard to develop presentations that will introduce their offerings to our community. The IMPACT 307 Pitch Night on November 1 at 5:30 p.m. is a highlight event of the year, and all that attend at the WYO Theater will have an enjoyable time. Admission is free, and there is a reception in the lounge area after the presentations are complete where the three winners will be announced. For those unable to attend in person at the WYO, the program will be livestreamed, offering another way of viewing this can’t-miss event.
Scot Rendall is Director of IMPACT 307 in the Sheridan area.
