2023 Governor’s Giant Vision winners revealed

APRIL 26, 2023:

As host of the Governor’s Giant Competition, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry event Chair Brad Wheeler, President of Wheeler Manufacturing, announced the winners of the 2023 business and student business competitions.

After a preliminary judging process that reduced the field of applicants to those selected as qualifiers for 2023, the competition concluded with final judging activities Tuesday, April 25, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The awards were presented during the GOED Conference luncheon program, held in conjunction with Giant Vision. Winners of the two competitions were announced by South Dakota Chamber President David Owen, with Governor Kristi Noem congratulating the honorees.

2023 marks the nineteenth year of the Giant Vision Business Competition. The following winners were selected as this year’s startup standouts.

BUSINESS COMPETITION:

• This year’s first-place $20,000 winner was My Part Pros LLC (Cloud-based software solution providing a range of features, including picking prioritization, automated order tracking, real-time updates on delivery status, and optimized delivery routes), Elliott Zimmer and David Zimmer, Sioux Falls
• In second place, winning $10,000, was CellField Technologies LLC (Contract research organization utilizing microphysiological system (MPS) to provide services to pharmaceutical companies, decreasing drug development costs and dependence on animal models), Scott Wood and Hosein Mirazi, Rapid City
• In third place, winning $5,000, was Straight Up Care LLC (Web-based platform for Peer Specialists (PS) that features a training course, and matching algorithm to bring new PS to the job market, reducing the nationwide care burden and improving addiction and mental health client outcomes), Melissa Dittberner and Jonathan Lewis, Volin
• Two companies tied for fourth place, winning $2,500 each. Advanced Radiation Technology & Solutions LLC (Cloud-based platform for Monte Carlo simulations of radiation interactions with matter, allowing users to build, visualize, and share models of specific objects and environments without any coding experience), Jing Liu and Chao Zhang, Vermillion and Latitude-Ag LLC (Unique system to more efficiently and effectively clean out agricultural sprayers, reducing operator exposure to chemicals, and eliminating wasted chemicals), Ladd McCluskey, Humboldt
• In sixth place, receiving $1,000, BioBest (Minimally invasive, viable, bioinspired ventilation systems for scrubbing effectively the airborne pollutants and toxic fumes from mine ventilation air), Cody Allen and Venkataramana Gadhamshetty, Rapid City

Competitors placing out of the prize money receive a $500 stipend to assist with the cost participating.

Sponsors of the Giant Vision Business Competition are South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s Office of Economic Development; Black Hills Energy; Christiansen Land & Cattle Ltd.; Dacotah Bank; First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard; MidAmerican Energy; NorthWestern Energy; Valley Queen Cheese Factory; Wheeler Manufacturing and Xcel Energy.

The Giant Vision Competition is a program of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, located in Pierre. SD Chamber President David Owen stated, “The goal of this program is to encourage people to explore being a business owner and to create an exciting future while also expanding South Dakota’s economy. We have worked hard to produce an event that will benefit all of the competitors. While the prize money will help the finalists, the contacts made and rigor required to be a qualifier will help all to advance their business ideas.”

STUDENT COMPETITION:

2023 was the seventeenth year of the college student competition. Entries were received from across South Dakota. Following a thorough review of the original applications, ten finalists were selected to compete and the winners of the Competition are:

• Taking first place in the student competition, winning $5,000, was CounSil (Web-based software solution that guarantees the efficiency and effectiveness of the funding and purchasing processes in the military), John Barbour, SD School of Mines & Technology
• In second place, winning $4,000, was was eqUTI (Urinary tract infection prevention in women), Grace Kramer, Northern State University
• In third place, winning $3,000, Vizion UAS (Next-generation precision agricultural services to aid farming efficiency), Zackery Holloway, Gerald Waterhouse, Devin Filter and Micah Healy, SD School of Mines & Technology
• In fourth place, winning $2,000, was Bio-Navitas (Production of renewable and sustainable graphitized carbon products from corn stover to be used as electrode material for supercapacitors), Bharathkiran Maddipudi and Khang Huynh, SD School of Mines & Technology
• In fifth place, winning $1,000, was Score-Score (Combines a social media platform with a robust music database. The platform enables band directors to catalog and track pieces they are interested in, with its recommendation engine providing personalized suggestions), Chami Senarath, Haakon Anderson, Christian Olson and Haley Armstrong, SD School of Mines & Technology

Competitors placing out of the prize money receive a $500 stipend to assist with the cost participating.

Giant Vision Student Competition Sponsors: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s Office of Economic Development, Citi and South Dakota EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research).

The Governor’s Giant Vision Business and Student Competitions were established to help citizens realize that South Dakota is the best place to start a successful business. The program was designed as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to compete for seed money and a chance to achieve their dream. This South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry program was founded and continues to be chaired by Brad Wheeler, President of Wheeler Manufacturing in Lemmon. Additional program information is available at https:/bit.ly/3MQSO8x.

APRIL 6, 2023:

As host of the Governor’s Giant Vision Competition, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry President David Owen recently announced the qualifying applicants for the 2023 Business/Open and Student competitions.

Judged on the content of their business plans, the following were selected by a panel of judges as the top qualifying entries that will advance to the next level of the competition set for Tuesday, April 25th at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The competitor displays will be open to the public from 9:30 to 11:45 AM in Exhibit Hall 1.

BUSINESS/OPEN COMPETITION: The following will compete for a top prize of $20,000.

STUDENT BUSINESS COMPETITION: Students are vying for a $5,000 first-place prize for the best business idea.

• BioNanoTech (Biocompatible and optimizable nanoparticle-based DNA carriers to passively deliver DNA plasmids for genetic transformation in plants), Chinenye Izuegbunam and Blessing Ishola, University of South Dakota
• Bio-Navitas (Production of renewable and sustainable graphitized carbon products from corn stover to be used as electrode material for supercapacitors),Bharathkiran Maddipudi and Khang Huynh,SD School of Mines & Technology
• CounSil (Web-based software solution that guarantees the efficiency and effectiveness of the funding and purchasing processes in the military), John Barbour, SD School of Mines & Technology
• eqUTI (Urinary tract infection prevention in women), Grace Kramer, Northern State University
• Feldy’s Ice Cream (Mobile ice cream shop/caterer serving SDSU ice cream and other treats), Noah Felderman, Doland School
• Human It (Specializes in human factors and usability engineering, providing seamless and customized solutions, including human factors testing, data analysis, and prototype design support), Megan McCray, University of South Dakota
• Oncoplant Therapeutics (Drug-discovery company  dedicated to commercializing an anti-cancer-targeted therapeutic for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) using smart drug delivery technology with nanoparticles), Nisitha Wijewantha, Morgan Eikanger, and Khosrow Rezvani, University of South Dakota
• Score-Score (Combines a social media platform with a robust music database. The platform enables band directors to catalog and track pieces they are interested in, with its recommendation engine providing personalized suggestions), Chami Senarath, Haakon Anderson, Christian Olson and Haley Armstrong, SD School of Mines & Technology
• Sunny Honey (Window lighting system to help consumers with Seasonal Affective Disorder), Carolyn Hieb, Cole Hennen and CJ Stukel, South Dakota State University
• Vizion UAS (Next-generation precision agricultural services to aid farming efficiency), Zackery Holloway, Gerald Waterhouse, Devin Filter and Micah Healy, SD School of Mines & Technology

Giant Vision is a program of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry, made possible by financial support for prize money from Governor Noem’s Office of Economic Development. These funds are matched by business contributions to generate additional prize money and funds necessary to run the event. (No public funds are used to run the competition.)

The student competition is supported by Citi and SD EPSCoR. The business/open competition is supported by Black Hills Energy, Christiansen Land & Cattle, Ltd., Dacotah Bank, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, MidAmerican Energy Company, NorthWestern Energy, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Wheeler Manufacturing and Xcel Energy.

The Giant Vision competitions were established to help citizens realize that South Dakota is the best place to start a business. Program chair is Brad Wheeler, Wheeler Manufacturing of Lemmon. Wheeler was an original founder of the competition and is a past chair of the South Dakota Chamber Board of Directors.

For additional program information, visit www.southdakotagiantvision.com.

MARCH 9, 2023:

South Dakota college/university/technical college students have until tomorrow (March 10, 2023) to submit their entries for the Governor’s Giant Vision Student Competition. The top prize is $5,000.

In addition to cash awards, the competition will bring people with new business ideas together with judges and other invited guests who have business development experience and those who have the capacity to make venture investments. Selected qualifiers will compete for prize money April 25, 2023, in Sioux Falls.

The South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry, along with Governor Noem’s Office of Economic Development, hosts this annual competition to foster and reward the entrepreneurial spirit in South Dakotans who vie for prize money to launch their business idea.

Application requirements, FAQs and a statewide list of organizations that provide application assistance are available at southdakotagiantvision.com. An expanded offering of the FAST Launch Business Boot Camp, presented by South Dakota Biotech and South Dakota EPSCoR, is designed to assist South Dakota entrepreneurs and small businesses with beginning and expanding their business through the Giant Vision Competition and SBIR/STTR funding. Online, on-demand sessions are available. Details at https://bit.ly/3zhPecX.