Tonasket Tire wins Supernova BLC

WENATCHEE – A new business competition that kept nearly three dozen entrepreneur applicants on tetherhooks for the past 10 months came to a grand finale last Thursday, August 20, with the announcement of the grand prize winner.

Four finalists were in the hunt for the honor, The Pateros-Brewster Community Kitchen Project, Tonasket Tire, Burch Mountain BBQ, and Yeti Chocolates. Following a final round of online voting Tonasket Tire was named the grand prize winner and received $10,000 in cash plus $5,000 in-kind prizes.

Tonasket Tire, LLC (Facebook.com/TonasketTire)

Tonasket Tire, LLC opened last June by owner Chance Stucker. In his finalist profile Stucker said his shop can handle most sizes and brands of tires. Future plans call for adding a hydraulic lift to allow oil changes at the shop and a service truck to make out-of-shop calls.

The runners-up are noteworthy competitors as well.

Yeti Chocolates (yetichocolates.com)

Yeti Chocolates, billing its product as “dangerously good” is a small batch artisan chocolate company headquartered in Rock Island. Owned and operated by Willow Merritt since 2006, the one-woman business creates “visually stunning little bites of edible art that taste as good as they look with flavors that are as unique as their outside appearance.”

Burch Mountain BBQ (burchmountainbbq.com)

Grill master Justin Fox is an Oklahoma transplant to the Pacific Northwest who brought the BBQ flavor of his home state with him. The Wenatchee-based business has been delivering catered orders with a mobile unit since January 2018.

Fox hand-selects the oak, maple, cherry, and apple wood used to cook his meats that feature flavoring with real wood flavor and coal fire.

PBCRC Community Kitchen Project

The Pateros-Brewster Community Kitchen Project located in the PBCRC office complex is the only business among the 16 semifinalists domiciled in The Quad coverage area. In its Supernova profile relates that the inspiration for the kitchen “came about when local veteran farmers from Tatley Outpost and other home food producers came to us at PBCRC looking for a USDA certified commercial kitchen.”

PBCRC Executive Director Gene Dowers said that along with the Supernova application PBCRC also applied for a Rural Development Grant (RDA) through USDA and was subsequently awarded $34,000 of the original $134,000 request. He said the project is going forward but much depends upon availability of contractors and demands on the shipping during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everybody is busy now,” Dowers said.

Dowers had high praise for the Supernova experience and underscored the value-added benefits of participating.

“There was lots of education, lots of program development,” said Dowers. “I’m impressed about how close the group got,” he said of his fellow competitors. “We collaborated on a number of different projects and are going to continue to work together.”

The competition started with 33 applicants that were later narrowed down to 16 semifinalists.

“I’m grateful we made it into the final four,” Dowers said.

The Supernova Business Launch Competition (BLC) announced in the fall of 2019 offered new and existing business projects the opportunity to engage their like-minded movers and shakers in a contest to see who could impress an audience of professional judges and the voting public in pursuit of a $10,000 prize.

The North Central Washington Economic Development District collaborated with community partners, funders, and professional service providers to host a platform to identify and support new businesses that can flourish in the NCW region.

The competition kicked off with application webinars last January followed by a formal application period during the first half of February. May and June were taken up with workshops, classes, and business planning support.

Startup Bootcamp ran from April 4 through mid-May. Link Transit sponsored a familiarization Tour of the Region for the business candidate Competitors had until mid-June to submit their business plans. A professional vetting committee reviewed the plans and 16 semifinalists were chosen from the near-three dozen applicants.

A Perfect Pitch Workshop helped candidates prepare their videos for Pitch Night July 27.

Public voting to choose the four finalists ended July 31. A second round of voting to choose the winning business ended August 14.

NCWEDD Executive Director Alyce Brown said the first Supernova BLC was a learning experience for the applicants and the organizers alike.

“We are definitely going to do it again next year, COVID-pending,” said Brown who added that what the organizers gathered from this year’s event will help shape the next one.

While some details are still in the planning stage Brown said the plan is to launch the second Supernova next January and include an intent-to-apply platform to qualify those businesses that follow through with the application process.

The organizers also plan to differentiate between new startups and existing businesses in recognition of the disparity between a startup competing with an ongoing business.

“We may offer two, perhaps three prizes next year,” said Brown. “One for a startup and one to expand a running business.”

To learn more about the NCWEDD and SupernovaBLC, visit supernovablc.com online.