Business Pitch Competition Winner Announced
Friday, October 20, 2023
After a competitive process involving of number of business submissions, Arrows In Motion has won the business pitch competition hosted by the Millworks – Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Arrows In Motion offers private archery lessons, group lessons, and special events to the residents of Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding region. Company owners Lana Perry and Jacob McEachern took home the contest’s grand prize valued at $15,000. The runner-up, Daniella Pastore from CORE., received the second-place prize valued at $5,000.
The entrepreneurs participated in a pitch off, which was scored by and expert panel of judges and audience voting. Both firms earned their way to the finals following a competitive process involving over a dozen submissions from business owners across the Algoma District.
The pitch-off took place as part of the Bridges to Better Business event, an annual learning and networking event hosted by the Millworks - Centre for Entrepreneurship during
BDC Small Business Week. This year’s event also featured a keynote from Chef Matt Basile, who spent over a decade in the food industry as the founder of
Fidel Gastro’s and
Lisa Marie in Toronto and is now the co-founder of
Alchemy Grills. Chef Basile has also hosted the reality television show Rebel Without a Kitchen, and has co-written two bestselling cookbooks,
Street Food Diaries and
Brunch Life.
The organizing partners for Bridges to Better Business 2023 are BDC, Community Development Corporation of Sault Ste. Marie and Area (CDC), Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, and Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce. This event was powered by TD Bank Group and the support of sponsorship from Accretive Studios, BDC, CDC, Century 21, Compass Imaging Group, Co-operators - J. Viotto and Company Inc., Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Listener Tech, Northern Credit Union, Northern Ontario Angels, Spadafora Johnson Lepore LLP, and Wishart Law Firm.
In photo left to right: Pitch Competition winners Jacob McEachern and Lana Perry from Arrows In Motion, City of SSM Marketing and Program Coordinator Jessica Maione, and runner-up Daniella Pastore from CORE.