The 14 finalists for the main Boise Entrepreneur Week Pitch Competition have been announced. During Boise Entrepreneur Week, finalists will compete for a first place non-dilutive prize of $50,000, while the runner-up will receive $5,000.

Moreover, all the participants will be winning something priceless: Working with Idaho entrepreneurs to help refine their pitches and become part of the Idaho startup community.

How did we get here?

Applications for the main Pitch Competition were being accepted online until Sept. 2, and the finalists were chosen by a conference panel. On Oct. 27, finalists will deliver a seven-minute pitch, followed by an additional three minutes for Q&A with the judges.

Now, the finalists are working with a group of mentors who have committed one hour a week until the to work with the finalists to help them prepare.

What will they win?

In addition to the first- and second-place awards, participants will be eligible for other awards as well.

• Like last year, the winner of the Pitch Competition joins Bloomberg Television Network’s 2 Minute Drill to compete for an additional $50,000.
• Connetic Ventures has a formalized partnership with Boise Entrepreneur Week, and one startup from any of the pitch competitions (not limited to this one) will be selected for a $100,000 equity investment.
• One startup from any of the competitions will also be eligible for the Impact Award, from Scoggin Capital Investments.

Who are the Pitch Competition finalists?

The following, in alphabetical order, are the Pitch Competition finalists, as well as a brief description of their companies or products. Be sure to check them out at Boise Entrepreneur Week, as well as entrants in the other Boise Entrepreneur Week pitch competitions.

(We’ve already written about a number of these companies, so if you’d like more detail, click on the link.)

• Café Mule is one of several products offered by Iron Mule, the coffee roaster with a social conscience. Born through giveaways of coffee along trailheads in the Foothills, Café Mule remembers its roots by donating money for each bag sold to trail maintenance.
• Carehandler is an app that’s intended to solve a very specific problem: Helping home healthcare organizations comply with the new Electronic Visit Verification law. The app helps agencies track visits, meet state requirements, and keep up with day-to-day operations.
• Chatterquant has had a lot of chatter, as the app uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for “sentiment analysis” to help make investment decisions based on what’s being discussed in social media.
• Dharma Dr is a smartphone app that helps calm the brain and soothe symptoms of anxiety, using handheld tabs with lights and vibrations. Its bilateral stimulation system is said to be able to reduce symptoms of anxiety in as little as 30 seconds. That’ll come in handy while preparing for the pitch competition.
• Galena Innovations is developing a cervical cup that is intended to help women prevent the tragedy of miscarriage caused by medical conditions through actually strengthening the cervical tissue.
• The Idaho Justice Project was formed just a year ago as a nonpartisan organization with the goal of improving Idaho’s justice system, both by achieving better outcomes and reducing costs. It has a number of projects underway, including reducing the number of incarcerated women and passing legislation to eliminate fees for juvenile offenders.
• Librarium, which is partnering with Meta, is a virtual reality-based app that helps students of any type and level use the “memory palace” technique of learning information.
• LONDR is Uber, except for washing machines and dryers. Don’t have enough time to do your wash? Reserve a washer on LONDR and leave your laundry on the porch. Have a washer and dryer that sit idle most of the time? Make some extra money.
• Pay4Me App, already backed by TechStars, is an app intended to help provide cross-border payment services for international students and migrants. The app also includes a portal that lets students apply for up to $100,000 in college loans.
• Shadowscape provides chief information security officers as a service and threat intelligence as a service, helping companies protect themselves and their data from what seems to be an ever-increasing army of worldwide security adversaries.
• Soleni Shoes has the goal of proving that orthopedic shoes can also be beautiful in addition to being functional, as well as adapt to a wearer’s foot conditions such as bunions and plantar fasciitis throughout the day
• Textual has developed a mobile commerce platform that is intended to allow businesses to sell their products directly inside text messages,  which means there’s no purchase funnel, no logins, and no credit card to pull out.
• TheOutfitter.Guide has developed a single platform for outfitters (the paying customers) and hunters that provides the back office and customer service aspect of the guided outfitter business.
• Topline Revenue LLC, which already works with well-known brands such as Marriott and Hilton, is intended to help hospitality companies increase their revenue by providing business services that a hotel might not currently have.

Sharon Fisher is a digital nomad who writes about entrepreneurship.

This article was created as a collaboration between Boise Entrepreneur Week, Built in Idaho and Trailhead

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