5×5 Night Comes to the Lakeshore
Worksighted is here today because Mike Harris and Matt Nguyen took a chance.
They believed technology would be the backbone of small business operations, not just corporations. And they were right. Their gamble paid off.
So its only natural they would seek ways to help aspiring entrepreneurs follow their dreams, listen to their intuition, and hustle until they had exhausted all options.
Which is why Worksighted is a proud sponsor of Start Garden’s 5 x 5 Night on Wednesday, May 31.
The West Michigan-based business pitch competition thrives on the fives – 5 potential businesses have 5 minutes to present ideas to 5 judges for a chance to win, you guessed it, $5,000.
A post shared by 5×5 Night (@5×5.night) on Apr 18, 2017 at 6:31am PDT
The free event, which is open to the public, starts at 5 p.m. at Haworth’s Innovation Atrium, 1 Haworth Center in Holland.
“The entrepreneurial spirit runs deep at Worksighted, so sponsoring the 5×5 event is a natural fit for us,” Nguyen said. “We’re proud to see the incredible ideas from right out of our community.”
The ideas, which were determined by public voting, are diverse and fresh and impactful and inspiring. Hopefully, with a boost from the competition, they will become profitable as well.
The five businesses presenting include:
- The KLYP is a self-feeding attachment for automatic football passing machines. Owner Jacob Kozlowski has already received interest both locally and nationally for the product.
- Locker Lifestyle creates small storage products for people living an active lifestyle – whether that’s working out, shopping, or traveling. Owner Kat Samardzija, a GVSU student-athlete, has four products in the works: the Wrist Locker, Ankle Locker, Little Locker, and Head Locker.
- AgHelp hopes to become the first mobile platform to connect farmers, workers, and support agencies. Owner Feliciano Paredes wants workers to earn more money and farmers to have all their crops harvested.
- MyUnoCard is a modern disruption of the traditional business card. Owner Paul Schmidt creates a short video of the professional, then incorporates all the traditional contact information, and finally shares the digital product in a multi-platform weblink.
- Parker Design is a fashion brand that designed The Rosa Pak, a product that helps a woman carry her work essentials without sacrificing quality or style or function. Owner Taryn Kutches hopes with sales of the product to conduct random acts of kindness, better known as PAK (Parker acts kindness).
Nguyen also will represent Worksighted at 5×5 Night as a judge. Other judges include:
- Daniel Morrison of Collective Idea
- Paul Nemschoff of Haworth
- Scott Spoelhof of Bayside Capital
- Pranav Mehta of Priority Health
In addition to the idea pitches, Zoe Bruyn of Stir It Up Bakery, the winner of the last 5×5 Night in Holland, will share how the $5,000 prize and in-kind legal services helped the growth of her business.
And don’t forget the networking.
The event is designed to spark conversations about ideas. Interesting people are everywhere. Trust us, it’s worth the price of admission.
See you there.