GlowShop the Latest Business to be Hatched Through LEAP’s Business Pitch Competitions
LANSING, MI – Among tough competition from seven strong competitors, GlowShop and owner Alex Reny became the latest winner of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership’s (LEAP) annual Hatched event, held at the MSU University Club Wednesday evening. The Hatched brings together winners from LEAP’s monthly business pitch competition, The Hatching, for a final showdown and a crack at $10,000 in prize money.
Together ,The Hatched and The Hatching are part of a community-wide effort to support local entrepreneurs and make the Lansing region a great place to start a business.
Alex first appeared in August’s Hatching with his idea for GlowShop. GlowShop is a STEM focused educational product that lets children turn art in to energy with paintable luminescent solar concentrates.
Tony Willis, Director of LEAP’s New Economy Division, thought GlowShop rose to the top based on its overall potential to impact the market.
“Though all the competitors brought great ideas and well thought out pitches, GlowShop really shone among the crowd for their unique product, scalability, and tapping into the need of making STEM more appealing to young people,” said Willis.
Willis also introduced a new resource guide for local entrepreneurs called Start Chart. The guide offers profiles and resources appropriate for various business stages, as well as a useful set of exercises designed to help entrepreneurs get started. More information about Start Chart can be found online.
Wednesday’s Hatched event, was sponsored by the MSU Federal Credit Union, LEAP, Venturit, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC, MEDC, Spartan Innovations, Lansing Regional SmartZone, Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting P.C., Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Simplified Tax & Accounting Services; Michigan Creative, CASE Credit Union, and the Henry Center for Executive Development.
Since inception in 2013, The Hatching and The Hatched have surfaced 413 new ideas, spawned 62 new businesses, created more than 70 new jobs, and cultivated more than a million dollars in follow on investment in the Lansing region. The Hatching will ramp up again in 2018 with a new quarterly format. The Hatching’s first 2018 event takes place on March 21st from 6-8 p.m. at the Lansing Brewing Company.
