As host of the Governor’s Giant Vision Business and Student Business Competitions, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board Chair Brian Sandvig, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Milbank, recently announced the qualifying applicants for the 2021 Business and Student competitions.
The following were selected by a panel of judges as the top qualifying entries that will advance to the next level of the competition held Wednesday, April 28 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The display area in Exhibit Hall 1 will be open to the public from 10am-noon.
Business Competitors:
· Artic Sombrero (unique lid designed to interface with 12 oz canned beverages and replace the lid on a standard 30 oz Yeti style tumbler), Ron Heiman, Sioux Falls
· Cybernet Human LLC – iYou (application for patient access to healthcare records), Clay Strombeck and Kelly McKinney, Rapid City
· Halogi Hot Sauce (premium line of sauces), Luke Davidson and Nick Curry, Brookings and White
· Hydrolyst, LLC (process to reduce the production cost and life span of electrocatalysts used in hydrogen fuel cells), Kirstie Gildemeister and Kelsey Fitzgerald, Rapid City
· Shield Swift (rapid deployable weather protection device for the motorcycle market), Denise Robertson and Duane Langenfeld, Rapid City
· Sternum Protect (device to assist with recovery after open chest surgeries), Angel Rollag and Amanda Rollag, Sioux Falls
These new business ventures are competing for a top prize of $20,000.
Student Competitors:
· Audacia (stylish and quality travel bags), Jamie McGowan, Dakota Wesleyan University
· BioNanoTech (biocompatible and optimizable nanoparticle-based DNA carriers for genetic transformation in plants), Chinenye Izuegbunam and Jace Jerome, University of South Dakota
· BioTape (cellulose biofilm burn and wound care bandages), Kim Yip Chiok, attending the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
· Chi-X, (biomaterials that address surgical and post-surgical bleeding), Nghia Thai and Nhu Y Mai, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
· FChem Solutions (company centered on developing fluorination technologies and high-performance fluorinated materials), Siyu Mao and Jordan Kramer, University of South Dakota
· Fomeno, (platform to connect thrift shoppers with online stores for specific items), Brigit Blote and Payton Ryz, University of South Dakota
· GreenLight Bionics (product development for treatment of amputees and impaired motor capability patients), Kouadio Niamba, University of South Dakota
· Lafdr, (“no photo” dating app matching users based on common interests), Morgan Vagts, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
· Prairie BioTechnology (extending shelf life of fruit with a food presentative derived from an agricultural byproduct), Matthew Cole and Logan Wolf, South Dakota State University
Students are vying for a $5,000 first place prize for the best business idea.
Events on April 28 include time for judges to visit with each competitor in a tradeshow-type environment, followed by individual private presentations to the panel of judges. Competitors are judged on a variety of factors that include not only their formal presentation but also specifics such as market, opportunity, financial plan and management.
The Governor’s Giant Vision Business and Student Business competitions were established to help citizens realize that South Dakota is the very 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 is chaired by Brad Wheeler, Wheeler Manufacturing of Lemmon.
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. These funds are matched by the following businesses to generate additional prize money and funds necessary to run the event. (No public funds are used to run the competition.) Student Competition sponsors: Citibank N.A. and SD EPSCoR. Business Competition sponsors: Black Hills Energy, Christiansen Land & Cattle, Ltd., Dacotah Bank, First PREMIER Bank, MidAmerican Energy Company, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Wheeler Manufacturing and Xcel Energy.
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