After two years of virtual events, the Wind River Startup Challenge is pleased to announce its first in-person Pitch Day and Entrepreneurship Celebration will be taking place at Central Wyoming College on Saturday, June 4th. Activities for youths start at 10:00 a.m. and the Pitch Event will kick off at 1:00 p.m. in the Little Theater in CWC’s Student Center. Following the pitch presentations, special guest Christian Wallowing Bull, the 2021 Wyoming Singer-Songwriter’s competition winner, will be performing his music, as well as his journey to success.
The Wind River Startup Challenge is a platform for Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribal and community members to launch businesses and compete for seed funding. Between the previous two years, ten Native-owned companies have received some level of funding to get started or take their businesses to the next level. This year’s finalists have been working with business counselors for several months to develop and hone their business concepts and will be presenting their pitches to a team of independent judges who will decide how to allocate the funding. “I’m proud to be part of this year’s Wind River Startup Challenge and am excited to join the community of entrepreneurs in our area,” says Jessica Swallow, who will be pitching her business of a one-stop baby shop and photo booth on Saturday.
The Wind River Startup Challenge is a collaboration between Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal members, Central Wyoming College, the Wind River Development Fund, and several University of Wyoming units: IMPACT 307, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Wyoming EPSCoR, and the High Plains American Indian Research Institute (HPAIRI). Funding for this challenge comes from National Science Foundation-funded Wyoming EPSCoR, a grant from Wells Fargo’s Open for Business program, and Microsoft.