Description

April 26, 2017 Governor's Giant Vision Business Competition
Sioux Falls Convention Center, 1201 N West Avenue

The Giant Vision event brings this year's selected entrepreneurs together for the final competition.

The business and student entrepreneurial hopefuls will be vying for seed money ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.  Winners will be announced by State Chamber President David Owen and the top prizes awarded by Governor Dennis Daugaard during the banquet program. 

The Giant Vision competition is a program of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  During the day, competitors will present their business ideas privately to panels of judges, record elevator pitches and network with event attendees.

The Giant Vision Reception/Banquet is being held in conjunction with the Governor's Economic Development (GOED) Conference banquet.  If you have registered for the full GOED Conference, you are included for the reception and banquet.

2:00 - 4:30 PM - Giant Vision competitor display area is open to the public in Ballroom A

5:00 PM - Reception and 6:00 PM Banquet
               in Exhibit Hall 2

$45 fee for the reception and banquet meal.  Registration deadline is 5 PM, Thursday, April 20.

Governor’s Giant Vision Business and
Student Business Competition Qualifiers Announced
 
As host of the Governor’s Giant Vision Business Plan and Student Business Plan Competition, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry President David Owen recently announced the qualifying applicants for the 2017 Business and Student Business Idea competitions. 
 
The following were selected by a panel of judges as the top qualifying entries that advance to the next level of the competition held Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.  These new business ventures are competing for a top prize of $20,000.  Students are vying for a $5,000 first place prize for the best business idea. 
 
2017 GOVERNOR’S GIANT VISION BUSINESS QUALIFIERS

• Ease, Travis Kiefer & James Dravitz, Aberdeen (remote monitoring/intercommunicating sensors for elder care quality and efficiency)
• GlycoScience Research, Larry & Susan Holler, White (providing safe and verifiable ovine source of raw material for research and pharmaceutical use)
• Health Workforce USA/Connectushealth.org, Sandy Viau-Williams and Krista Marx, Yankton (digital platform to optimize the healthcare workforce through technology and social media)
• Lienwaivers.io, Luis Trejo, Geoff Arnold & Sean Richardson, Dakota Dunes (subscription-based service for builders to optimize their lien waiver process)
• NP Systems Integration, LLC, Daniel Stanton, Rapid City (addressing counterfeit products and supply chain security)
• Primary Manufacturing, Inc., Ladd McCluskey, Humboldt (provide a service that fills a void in the manufacturing of small plastic parts)
• UnderwritePro.com, Rory Maynard & David Woodbury, Spearfish (marketplace for loan applicants to submit required documents to multiple funding sources)
• XpressRules LLC, Lanny Turner & Ron Turner, Yankton (patented solution for converting sentences into computer code)

 2017 GOVERNOR’S GIANT VISION STUDENT PLAN QUALIFIERS      

• 305 Bucking Stock, Jake Stark, SDSU (stock provider for the rodeo industry)
• Agvation, Kelsey Hibl, SDSMT (GPS collar and phone app for tracking livestock)
• Hoffman Enterprises, Ian Hoffman, SDSMT (customizable open-source robotics platform for education)
• Provender Technologies, Henry Wegehaupt, SDSMT (automatic livestock feeding system)
• Simple Effective Energy Limited Liability Corporation’s (S.E.E. LLC), Matthew Wilcox, Dustin Johnson & Alexander Spilman, SDSMT (energy generators)
• South Dakota Refining Company, Scyller Borglum & J. Zack Malone, SDSMT (LEED Certified Green Refinery)
• The Calving Book App, Ellen Schlecter, Faulkton High School (app to provide easy access to calving records through cloud-based storage)
• The Knack, Sam Hummel & Tyler Frank, USD (app to connect makers and buyers of handmade and custom goods)
• The Left Lane Gang Shop, Mikayla Brakke, Lake Area Technical Institute (semi truck & diesel repair shop)
• Tiny Knight, Tyler Dillabough &Marshall Barrer, NSU (hand-held panic button utilizing GPS tracking)

The Giant Vision event is being held in conjunction with the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) annual conference at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.  For more information on the GOED conference, visit www.sdreadytopartner.com.  The Giant Vision competitor display booths will be open to the public from 2-4:30 PM on April 26th.  Winners will be announced as part of the GOED banquet program.  The evening reception begins at 5:00 PM and the banquet follows at 6:00 PM.  Registration required.
 
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.
 
Sponsors of the business program are

• Governor Dennis Daugaard
• Black Hills Energy, Rapid City
• Christiansen Land & Cattle, Ltd., Kimball
• Dacotah Bank
• Daktronics, Inc., Brookings
• MidAmerican Energy
• Toshiba America, Mitchell
• US Bank, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Rapid City
• Wheeler Manufacturing, Lemmon
• Xcel Energy, Sioux Falls  

The student competition is supported by

• Governor Dennis Daugaard
• Citibank, N.A. of Sioux Falls
• South Dakota EPSCoR, Brookings