GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Start Garden's 100 Ideas Initiative is back for a third year.
Organizers kick off SG100 Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Start Garden downtown Grand Rapids headquarters, located at 40 Pearl Street in suite 200.
Entrepreneurs with an business venture can attend the event and submit their ideas, network with others and learn from judges on how to best craft their pitch. 100 finalists will be announced on June 10 to win $1,000 each to put toward improving their idea ahead of "Demo Day."
Demo Day will take place on Sept. 2 at 20 Monroe Live. It's where the 100 finalists compete for a chance to win $20,000.
Idea submissions will be accepted until May 29 on the 100 website. Anyone can submit from anywhere, the minimum age is 14.
Here's a rundown of the 2019 winners:
Matthew Eleweke owner of Sympl.
A Slack-like app for students to dramatically accelerate peer to peer learning. Proof of concept pilot had 2,000 daily users at MSU.
Kendall Hines owner of Lawnbot
Lawnbot's is a cloud-based, mobile sales & payment platform that makes it quick, secure and painless for people and lawn care companies to do business, within a simple 2 minute chat conversation.
Hailey Smith owner of Polished Crown
Polished Crown is a salon and spa catering to those with hair loss. No matter where you are in your hair journey, we are here to support and empower you along the way! Services include; custom wigs, scalp treatments, microblading, eyelash extensions and more.
Gina Adams owner of Wearologie
Ware·ologie develops stylish hardware to restore independence and dignity to people with disabilities. The first product converts shirt buttons into magnetic closures to restore an essential activity of daily living. Buttons 2 Button Magnetic Adapters are a no-sew, machine washable solution that allows customers to express their own style and improve overall well-being.
Luis Chen owner of Wormies
Wormies Vermicompost is a custom-made soil amendment, rich in beneficial probiotic bacteria and nutrients. We have a worm farm dedicated to the the production of vermicompost (worm manure) and the regeneration of soil. We source our raw materials through a residential and commercial food-scrap pickup service, which diverts waste from landfills.
William Thatcher owner of Anvil
Anvil is an app that helps to alleviate student debt by providing users the optimal pay-off strategy and then manage the repayment so every cent is a savings bulls-eye. Average user saves around $14,500 and get out of debt 6 years sooner.
Andrea Wallace owner of Fourtifeye
Fourtifeye, will be a cloud-based, scalable analytics aggregation platform available via desktop web app and mobile that leverages machine learning capability to help artists quickly and easily understand their followers and make data-driven decisions, allowing them to focus on what they’re good at -- making music.
Nadia and Shatawn Brigham owners of GRNoir
GRNoir will leverage wine, a growing point of interest amongst Americans, with jazz, a significant marker of African American culture, into a relaxing space to create community. GRNoir welcomes folks to enjoy wine, small plates and jazz. GRNoir will cultivate, elevate, and celebrate American culture.
Felisha Rodriguez owner of CurlCase by Wear Your Curls
The CurlCase ® is a hair care product that gives you longer lasting styles while protecting your hair.
Jovan Naves owner of U.F.O.
Urban Fashion & Organics (UFO) is a shared retail space that allows local brands to provide the products and merchandise in a designated space in store while leaving the selling to us.
Marcel Price owner of the Diatribe Theater (People's Choice Winner)
Led by a group of artists, the Diatribe facilities after-school programs, assemblies, creative writing workshops and more. It partners with local schools and organizations to provide a space for students to tackle societal issues.
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