Business Pitch Competition open to South Central North Dakota residents

JAMESTOWN — In 5 minutes, you could pitch a business idea that could win you $1,250.

The Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center is hosting a Business Pitch Competition for entrepreneurs in December.

“That’s a great way for, say, somebody who is a hobbyist and thinking about starting a business to get some feedback from a panel of judges who represent both entrepreneurs and academics in the field of business,” said Katherine Roth, executive director, Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center, of the competition.

The competition is open to anyone living in the South Central region, Roth said, which includes nine counties: Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan, Stutsman, McIntosh and Wells.

“So it can be somebody at the university level or they’re not in school,” Roth said. “They could be retired and looking to start something new. It’s really open to anybody who feels that they have a business idea that they’d like to pitch and they’re comfortable with sharing that.”

Roth said last year, there were 18 entrants for the prizes.

Gage Thompson of Valley City, North Dakota, was a student at the University of Jamestown when he won the competition in 2022, which came with a $3,000 prize. He graduated that same year with a degree in financial planning and wealth management. Thompson, owner of Thompson Hay at Valley City, said he pitched the expansion of the business, which launched in 2021. He said he’s still in the start-up phase.

“We’re an alfalfa and grass-producing farm,” he said. “We sell a lot of our products to the equine market and we also do some specialty packaging and ship … miniature bales or boxes of hay or bags of hay all across the United States” used for rabbits, guinea pigs and smaller exotic animals. They also provide products to cow and calf operations around Valley City.

Thompson said participating in the Business Pitch Competition and winning helped in several ways.

“The funding — it did help with offsetting my cash rent for the acres that I rent,” he said. “So that helped a little bit with that. But it also gave me, I guess you could say … the confidence, you know, to go in front of these lending institutions and seek that money for expansion.”

He said he later presented the plan to a bank and it was approved. He said he enjoyed the Business Pitch Competition.

“Going through the process of planning something and presenting it and then eventually after that, executing the plan, it was a lot of fun to do it,” Thompson said.

Prizes for the 2023 Business Pitch Competition, available through a grant from USDA Rural Development, are first, $1,250; second, $1,000; and third, $750. Prizes for fourth and fifth place are $500 scholarships offered by the University of Jamestown, Roth said. The university offers certificate programs and classes that the scholarships can be applied to, she said.

The deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 1. Business Pitch Competition submissions are reviewed by a panel of judges and finalists will be chosen. Presentations should be emailed to

Katherine.Roth@uj.edu

.

A presentation event date will occur between Dec. 1-15 based on the schedules of finalists and judges. Each presenter will have 5 minutes to present a business idea virtually to the three-person panel of judges. The judges will have 4 minutes to ask questions to understand more about the viability of the business. Each individual or team may present one idea or concept.

Roth said previous judges have included a marketing professor, a consultant who has been a trainer for the Small Business Development Center and an entrepreneur who has received state grants.

“They’ve gone through the process, they know how it is,” Roth said.

The nonprofit Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center is also offering a free workshop on Nov. 13 on “How to Write a Business Plan,” which Roth said “is a great way to really put those thoughts together” before the competition.

For complete rules and more information on the Business Pitch Competition, visit

https://bit.ly/45EWuQP

Kathy Steiner has been the editor of The Jamestown Sun since 1995. She graduated from Valley City State College with a bachelor’s degree in English and studied mass communications at North Dakota State University, Fargo. She reports on business, government and community topics in the Jamestown area. Reach her at 701-952-8449 or ksteiner@jamestownsun.com.