October 24, 2024
The One Utah Summit, recently hosted at Southern Utah University, is an annual conference where business leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators come together to discuss economic opportunities in Utah. The state’s economy and energy leaders present the latest initiatives and innovations, and attendees network and listen to engaging presentations and panels.
The three-day conference featured many activities, including entrepreneur pitches, product and business exhibit halls, networking sessions, and an evening with live entertainment.
A standout of these events was the pitch competition — called the State Bank Business Challenge — where a panel of judges awarded $50,000 to young and established businesses. The awardees were selected from 92 applicants each of whom submitted a 90-second video pitching their business.
At the summit, the 45 semifinalists pitched three times to judges selected from varying groups and organizations, including mentors from SUU’s entrepreneurship program. The pitch competition winners are as follows:
Merch Makers, an AI-driven platform that simplifies merchandise creation by handling design, production, e-commerce, and fulfillment, won a total of $19,000 in addition to mentoring from Jeremy Smith and Brad Bonham, Utah’s entrepreneur in residence.
Tiny’s Botanas, a Mexican specialty snack company founded and run by a mother-daughter duo in St. George, was awarded $14,000, a marketing consultation, an accounting consultation, and an MBC scholarship.
Interval AI, a Provo-based company that helps businesses automate their internal collections process, was awarded a total of $6,000 and received the Governor’s Office Choice.
Fishing Weed Blocker, a company and product that helps fishermen keep plants off of hooks, was awarded a total of $5,500 and named Best Student Business.
Push Pilot, a company and product created for the construction industry to automatically eject wood plugs out of saw holes, won a total of $5,500.
SoundSculpt, a royalty-free AI-generated music service, was awarded a total of $3,500 and a legal consultation.
Visit SUU’s State Bank Business Challenge page to learn more about the pitch competition, including how to apply for the next round of applications and the minimum entry requirements.
The information in this article is current as of the publishing date and is intended for informational purposes only. This article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal, tax, or business advice. Any resources and organizations mentioned, unless an entity of or a partner of the state of Utah, are not formally endorsed by the Startup State Initiative or state of Utah.