May 20, 2021
Six finalists are set to pitch their businesses to a virtual audience and panel of judges during the Wind River Startup Challenge (WRSC) Saturday, May 22.
Pitch Day begins at 12:30 p.m., with presentations scheduled to start at 1 p.m. To view Pitch Day, the YouTube link will be available midday May 22 on the WRSC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/windriverstartupchallenge, as well as at www.windriverstartupchallenge.com.
The WRSC is an opportunity for Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal members to pitch their business ideas in hopes of securing a portion of the $30,000 available in startup capital. The WRSC is currently sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), a program funded through the National Science Foundation, and is a collaboration among the Wind River community, Central Wyoming College, the Wyoming Small Business Development Center and the University of Wyoming’s IMPACT 307.
7 Wind River Startup Challenge finalists set to pitch their businesses on May 22nd county10.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from county10.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Leslie Spoonhunter
During the last year, food trucks were a safer option for many of us wanting to eat out. One chef from the Wind River Indian Reservation is starting her own food truck featuring Native cuisine.
Goose s Kitchen is one of the eight finalists for the Wind River Startup Challenge, a competition between budding businesses to acquire funding. This business is planning to be up and running by August and showcase healthy Native cuisine.
Leslie Spoonhunter has been cooking all her life. She s Northern Arapaho and sees her food truck having a rotating menu. Choke cherry gravy, Indian Tacos, I want to serve buffalo, elk, and deer on the menu. Our ancestors used big game day to day. They harvested berries and whatever they could find, Spoonhunter said.
February 3, 2021
The Wind River Startup Challenge, a regional entrepreneurship opportunity designed to distribute thousands of dollars to Native-owned startups, received significantly more applications from Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone entrepreneurs this year. Eight finalist teams will advance to the Final Pitch Day, currently scheduled for May.
“We are encouraged to see the increase in applications and the wide variety of the business concepts this year for the Wind River Startup Challenge, even in the midst of COVID-19,” says David Bohling, the director of IMPACT 307, located at the University of Wyoming. “With help from Central Wyoming College (CWC) and the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC), we find it gratifying to assist these entrepreneurs in their efforts in trying to start or grow their businesses.”