The Springfield Exposition Center will turn battlefield Oct. 2 as four entrepreneurs duke it out during the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Go Big pitch competition.
The prize: $5,000 and six months free rent at Missouri State University’s business incubator The eFactory.
In its second year of a shorter, revised format, organizers of the chamber’s Business 2 Business expo sought to involve the Queen City’s entrepreneurial community in the 23rd annual event by adding the Go Big pitch competition.
Similar to an episode of reality TV show “Shark Tank,” four finalists were narrowed down by committee from a pool of 20 applicants and will go head to head as they pitch their startup ideas to a panel of judges.
“This event is going to be fast-paced and exciting for everyone involved,” said Kristin Lochner, community development and special events manager for the chamber. “The program will begin at noon, and by 1 p.m., we will have a winner.”
With prize money provided by the chamber, Lochner said finalists must impress a panel of three judges: chamber President and Mother’s Brewing Co. owner Jeff Schrag, Granolove co-owner Christine Daues and Creative Foundry owner Jim Michels.
Springfield Business Journal caught up with the entrepreneurs over email in advance of the competition.
Meet Inspxtr
Civil engineer Brandon Freeman hopes his new technology can help improve water and wastewater systems monitoring for municipalities. Specifically, Freeman said the system could assist the city of Springfield with its proposed $200 million in wastewater collection system upgrades during the next 10 years.
Freeman created a time-lapse camera called the I&Eye for monitoring underground sewer systems. The camera captures responses to rain events in order to visually detect areas in the collection system that are more susceptible to infiltration and inflow.
“The I&Eye is cheap, easy to set up and provides a quick glimpse at where to further spend sewer evaluation time and expense,” he said.
A Go Big pitch win would mean Freeman could provide two internships for MSU students and garner needed capital to build the hardware and software “bells and whistles” he’s designed for the camera.
Meet Panda Laundry Factory LLC
The wash and fold laundry industry doesn’t see a lot of innovative change. Panda Laundry Factory LLC founder Samson Yi said he has a radical idea that could turn the industry on its head through automated technology.
“By bringing economies of scale to this industry, we will be able to increase volume output while simultaneously dropping unit costs,” he said.
Processing more clothes for less money is the goal. Yi said his team already has built design schematics for both the software and the mechanical automation and currently is in the process of building a basic prototype module in St. Louis.
Yi said the prize money would be spent on the physical prototype module station, giving him the ability to show future investors a physical execution of the Panda Laundry facility.
Meet Safe Food for Me
Ever eaten at a local restaurant and wondered how much sugar was in the daily special? Safe Food for Me aims to answer that question and any other dietary or allergy concern. Founder Tylor Hindery is working to provide a searchable resource for individuals with dietary restrictions through a Web-based application allowing users to search restaurant menus.
“I’ve had the idea, but never fully pursued it,” he said. “Since the company is literally starting up as we speak, there has been a lot to do.”
Hindery said his first step is to begin programming the platform, and then reach out to area restaurants about joining. Go Big prize money would allow Hindrey to acquire programming help, giving him the opportunity to focus on sales.
Meet Share a Gig
Gigabit Internet has been a buzzword around the Queen City for a while. Matthew Thomas thinks he’s found the key in Share a Gig.
Thomas is working to bring full gigabit Internet access to residents and businesses of urban markets without the traditional costs of building out a high capacity gigabit fiber network.
Once enough interest is amassed, he’d like to start with downtown Springfield and the Commercial Street corridor. Thomas said his initial plans are to utilize the winnings to increase speeds on his current ULink business network.
“The eFactory will be a great spot for centralizing efforts downtown and will provide the space I need to get equipment configured and ready for launch,” he said.
Thomas said faster Internet speeds potentially could drive tech companies looking for massive capacity to feed their business needs into downtown Springfield.[[In-content Ad]]
