MACOMB, IL – After weeks of informative workshops, making business plans, establishing professional connections, and hours of preparations, nine prospective and current businesses took to the stage for the Business Pitch Competition event for the City of Macomb’s Small Business Competition last night; and they showed a panel judges and hundreds of friends and family exactly what they had.
The event, which made its return after a six-year hiatus, featured the prospective entrepreneurs presenting their 5-minute pitches to the panel of judges, followed by a brief question and answer segment. Once all of the presentations were complete, the points were tabulated and the top three finishers were announced; with each receiving a prize package, with a monetary prize from the City and various start-up support from area businesses.
The first-place winners for the evening were Kiley and Royce Lee, the proprietors of Eras Vintage Resale & Rentals, an up-and-coming retail and rental business featuring vintage furniture, décor and houseware. They’ve been renovating their future storefront, a building on West Calhoun which now sports a bright green façade.
Bloom Macomb, the brainchild of Anne Ingersoll took home second place. Ingersoll described Bloom Macomb as a flower shop that offers more than just flowers and plants, with plans to cultivate spaces for community and creativity as well as offering internships and job shadows for aspiring local entrepreneurs to see how a small business operates in practicum.
Sandra’s Authentic Mexican Food, a local favorite taqueria food truck from Carthage, was awarded third place for their pitch to open a physical storefront in Macomb. During the pitch for Sandra’s, presenter Amay Espinoza noted the valuable insight they had gained from the workshops, expressing confidence in how they would be able to implement those lessons to grow their business even further.
Each of these businesses now has 13 months to get their businesses open and share their wares and services with customers.
Nine total prospective entrepreneurs made it through the workshops and presented last night, with the prize-winning pitches, in addition to the other business pitches for the evening including:
- Serenity Falls Mind & Body, LLC – a massage therapy business owned by Shellie Lorenzen, seeking to offer medical massage therapy sessions, Dolphin NeuroStim Sessions, and NeurOptimal brain training sessions
- Kilted Elephant Media Products – a veteran-owned video production company owned by Wade and Ronda Brady
- Escape MJ’s – an escape room business featuring two different rooms, pitched by James Fowler
- Ikigai Macomb – a multi-purpose creative space pitched by Aidan and Thomas Trias, featuring a commissary kitchen, music studio, and digital design space
- 13 Broomsticks – a craft retail business owned by Kelley Martin, which offers eclectic and custom goods, homemade fragrances, and cleaning supplies
- Manna’s Cookie Dough Cafe – an eatery specializing in cookie dough-based sweets including ice cream and truffles, pitched by Amanda Snowden
Ballard is anticipating a few years before the return of the next Small Business Competition, allowing time for a new group of prospective business owners to emerge.
