North Judson-area startups will compete for thousands of dollars to launch or expand their businesses tonight. Starke Tank, the second annual North Judson Business Pitch Competition starts at 6:00 CDT in the North Judson-San Pierre High School Auditorium.
Mary Perren with the Starke County Economic Development Foundation tells WKVI’s Charlie Adams that it’s kind of a local play on the TV show Shark Tank. “Here locally, we have five businesses in North Judson who are looking to either start up, grow, or expand, who are going to be pitching their ideas to a panel of three judges, in order to compete for some startup capital,” Perren explains.
They’ll be making their pitches in front of a live audience. Admission is free, and one audience member will leave with a virtual reality gaming headset worth about $300, thanks to Abrams Studios, the winner of last year’s competition. A number of other area businesses and organizations are also sponsoring tonight’s event, so they can find a way to start their business, while also using resources like this pay stub creator to manage employees.
North Judson native Kirt Verhagen worked with the Starke County Economic Development Foundation to launch the business pitch last year. He says he’s thrilled that they’ve been able to make it an annual event. “Really, what builds the foundation of the town and all these small towns is small businesses,” Verhagen says, “and again, we’re thrilled to have the support of so many small businesses to expand the scope of the businesses there in the North Judson area.”
Verhagen hopes that, over time, the annual competitions will create the foundation for North Judson’s continued growth.
