The five finalists were announced that will compete in the final event of the Louisiana Startup Prize to a packed house Sept. 4.
The Top 5 finalists are:
• Alchemy Geopolymer Solutions – Carlos Montes
• Lynxus – Nicholas Spinazze
• PathoRADAR – Varun Kopparthy
• Seln – Leonardo Hudson
• StopFlood Appliance Systems – Brent Singley
In its first year, the Startup Prize hosted 92 registered startups for the qualifying events that took place in June and July. To qualify for the Startup Prize Final event, the entrepreneurs had to attend at least one out of two of the qualifying events, “The Startup Prize’s inaugural year has blown us away,” Gregory Kallenberg, executive director of the Louisiana Startup Prize, said. “It was amazing to see such incredible ideas and experience so much entrepreneurial energy. I truly feel like we’ve started something special here.”
During the finale, the five finalists will compete for the grand prize of cash and services equaling over $70,000. The grand prize includes $25,000 cash, $10,000 worth of marketing services from Williams Creative Group, $10,000 of accounting services from Heard, Mcelroy and Vestal, one free year of office space provided from American Tower (valued at $20,000) and a $5,000 corporate video provided by Fairfield Studios.
The LASP Board of Directors (a group primarily consisting of investors) has the opportunity to invest further into any of these final projects.
The Startup Prize is concept that has combined entrepreneurial education with the intensity of a competition. The Startup Prize’s main goal is to develop better entrepreneurs, connect them with investors and help create an entrepreneurial culture in northwest Louisiana.
The Startup Prize Final event will kick off with a public event mixer Sept. 26. Entrepreneurs will spend their day Sept. 27, presenting their concepts to the Startup Prize’s “Board of Directors,” a select group of investors and consultants, and end the evening with a pitch event called the Startup Prize Coliseum. The $50,000 winner will be announced Sept. 28 at a public brunch ceremony.
Go to www.LaStartupPrize.com to learn more.
