University of Wyoming Casper Start-Up Challenge Announces Pitch Night

CASPER, Wyo. – April 10, 2023

IMPACT Casper is thrilled to announce the 2023 Casper Start-Up Challenge pitch night on April 13, 2023, with doors opening at 5 p.m. at Casper College in Wheeler Auditorium. Four local entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to a panel of five local judges.

Sponsors including the University of Wyoming, TW Foundation, Advance Casper, First Interstate Bank, Hilltop Bank, and Wyoming Innovative Partnership have given generous amounts to support these companies’ growth. “I am very excited about the progress the companies have made in the last few months,” said Director Eric Schlidt. “Each year we see these companies come up with solutions that will hopefully continue to benefit Wyoming and beyond. I can’t wait for Casper to see these companies show their innovative ideas.” 

Pitch night features four different companies, including: 

• Office Outing, Meagan Kuhl: The Office Outing website will help businesses and corporations connect with the venues, vendors and entertainment they need to hold successful business events. It will also provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to vendors/venues/entertainment to get in front of the corporate audience and garner business they’re looking for from team-building events, employee appreciation parties, retirement parties, corporate retreats, holiday parties and more.
• Red, White and Blued, Toyon Wiggs: Red, White and Blued is a full-service gunsmith and ammunition manufacturer in Casper, WY, providing repair, custom long guns and handguns, custom coatings, ammunition manufacture and reloading services.
• Evelyn Elaine, Carley Applegate: Evelyn Elaine is a standardized approach for hospitals and health organizations to deliver cost-effective and fundamental caregiver training to the 53 million family caregivers across the country. Hospitals and healthcare organizations utilizing Evelyn Elaine products and services can reduce costs, improve outcomes and create a community of caregivers.
• Savage Thread Works, Charles Mateker: Savage Thread Works started in 2020 with the idea of creating covert conceal carry bags and has since expanded into long-range shooting and hunting gear. They design and build all their gear with high-quality materials in-house.

Doors will open at 5 p.m., with presentations starting at 5:15. Each finalist will be given 20 minutes to present and answer questions from the judges. The judging panel includes Tiffany Gamble, Business Advisor Hat Six Travel Center; Justin Farley, CEO Advance Casper; Kendall Hutchinson, Development Load Officer Wyoming Smart Capital Network; Chris Lorenzen, Director Public Relations Casper College; and Jerad Stack, CEO and co-founder of Flowstate Solutions. 

Following the pitches, IMPACT Casper will host a reception at the Wheeler Auditorium at Casper College, where the winning teams will be announced. “We will have a $1,500 Audience Choice Award that will be determined 100% by the audience,” Schlidt says, “so I encourage everyone to come down and vote for your favorite company and support these entrepreneurs.” 

IMPACT 307, a business development program of the University of Wyoming, is a statewide network of innovation-driven business incubators committed to growing and strengthening Wyoming’s entrepreneurial community by providing resources and support for founders to thrive. 

For additional questions about entrepreneurial resources that the University of Wyoming and the Business Resource Network offer, please reach out to IMPACT Casper at 307-315-6401 or casper@uwyo.edu.