(Wind River Reservation, WY) — Applications to the 2023 Wind River Startup Challenge are open to Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs through December 1. Participants in the program receive six months of workshops to develop business skills and acumen, a year of one on one business coaching, multiple networking events, regional media opportunities, and access to a seed funding pool for those who qualify to present at an in-person Pitch Day event.
Participants in the Wind River Startup Challenge must be an enrolled Northern Arapaho or Eastern Shoshone, or teams must be at least 50% owned, operated, or led by a Tribal member. An application support session will be held on November 19, 2022 from 3 – 4pm at the Frank B. Wise Building in Fort Washakie to answer questions and to support anyone interested in filling out the application. Snacks will be provided.
Learn more at: www.windriverstartupchallenge.org
In partnership with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, the Wind River Startup Challenge (WRSC) seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship on the Wind River Reservation and provide the opportunity for tribal members to acquire funding to launch native-owned businesses. Now completing its third year, the WRSC began as a joint endeavor of the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the University of Wyoming Office for Research and Economic Development.
To date, 14 Native-led business ventures have been supported through the WRSC with $105,000 of seed funding awarded:
- Brittney’s Baristas by Brittney Niedo
- Native Precision by Shay Jimerson
- Ootsie Ohant by Jessica Swallow
- Tree Keepers by Jaren Brown and Ryan Axthelm
- Goose’s Kitchen by Leslie Spoonhunter
- Dancing Rain Consulting by Harmony Spoonhunter
- Timber Beast by Eugene Coulston
- Native FX by Eustace Day
- The Monahooboo Hut by Hannah Nicol
- Wildflower Salon by Stephanie C’Hair
- Heavy Hand Fencing by Kevin Goggles
- Red’s Recon by Red and LaTara LeBeau
- Intertribal Wellness by Denyse Bergie and Mike Ute
- Taylor B’s T’s by Taylor Bell
To learn more about the Wind River Startup Challenge and apply, visit www.windriverstartupchallenge.org For any questions or comments, email [email protected] or call (307) 363-2791