Photo: Contributed
Community Futures of the North Okanagan has announced the first round of Enterprize Challenge finalists, and by all accounts this year’s competition is poised to be stiff.
From a barber shop selling suspenders to a floating convenience store, the five finalists announced today represent some of the most promising new businesses in the region, and they’re only half of all the finalists in this year’s competition.
The first five Enterprize Challenge finalists are:
- Susan Cairnie, Earth to Sky Celebrant Ceremonies
As a certified Life-Cycle Celebrant and ordained inter-faith minister, Susan Cairnie creates and officiates custom ceremonies for weddings, sacred unions, blessing ways, vow renewals, baby-naming ceremonies and more. Earth to Sky Celebrant Ceremonies caters to a growing demand for an alternative to standard religious and civil ceremonies.
- Leanne Mollica, The Rumpus Raft
What if you could order a roll of toilet paper or a tall iced tea while you’re boating on Kalamalka or Okanagan Lake? The Rumpus Raft brings boaters all the hot day necessities of a convenience store right on the water.
- Elle Bourcet, Ritual Barbershop
This Main Street Vernon shop will offer complete unisex barber services as well as high end men’s retail items such as pocket squares, suspenders, neck ties and bow ties.
- Rob Raybould, Sellable
Which properties have a higher probability of listing for sale within the year? Sellable is a predictive real estate search engine that uses analytics and industry trends to help real estate agents focus marketing on and grow their inventory of houses likely to sell soon.
- Rebecca Hackman, BITES Creative Catering
Whether you need appetizers for a party or an intimate dinner for just a few, this catering service brings gourmet organic and local dishes right to your door. BITES Creative Catering can take care of everything, from menu planning and shopping to decorating and cleaning up.
The Enterprize Challenge is an entrepreneurship competition that gives new and start-up businesses a shot at $35,000 of cold, hard capital to help their business grow.
Competitors are assigned a mentor who helps them prepare an initial pitch for the competition’s panel of judges. From the initial entrants the judges pick 10 finalists who will be asked to give a final presentation. At the end of it all, three of those finalists go home with a $35,000 prize.
“This year’s participants have brought forward some really unique and innovative business ideas as well as some traditional business ideas with a new spin,” says Leigha Horsfield, the executive director of Community Futures North Okanagan. “The judges have definitely had their work cut out for them.”
Now in its third year, this year’s competition saw 23 businesses compete for a spot in the finals. Horsfield says that’s more than have ever entered before.
The remaining five finalists for the competition will named next week, and all ten will give their final pitches April 7. Winners will be announced at the Enterprize Challenge Tradeshow and Awards event, which will be held at Okanagan College April 13.
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