Photos by Ralph Freso
Ten of the most dynamic startup companies at Grand Canyon University will be showcased in the first Demo Day celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship.
The event, at 4 p.m. Thursday in Building 71, will serves as a platform for these entrepreneurs to display their unique value.
The 10 companies were selected as Cohort 001 and all have participated in Founders Forum, a propriety entrepreneur training program that combines philosophies, tools and strategies from successful entrepreneurs and other programs, such as Y Combinator.
In a creative twist, the audience will be the judges and vote via QR code for their favorite startups to determine the winners of five awards, including “Arizona’s Most Innovative Startup.”
The companies include GCU alumni-founded Noggin Boss and several GCU student-founded companies, such as Jack’s Detail Garage and Deadnuts Outdoors.
Noggin Boss, a personal promotional apparel company co-founded by Gabe Cooper and Sean Starner, was featured on ABC entrepreneurship reality show "Shark Tank" in the spring of 2022. And last summer, Noggin Boss landed a highly coveted license from the National Football League.
“This is the culmination of our Founders Forum training,” said Robert Vera, founding director of Canyon Ventures. “We’ve created a unique education system for entrepreneurs that shows them how to secure product market fit, create entirely new categories of companies, and solve problems that create exceptional value.
“Our Founders know exactly what to do first and what to do next. It will be an interactive event, and we’ll have a fashion show in between, when people are voting and before we announce the winner. I think that will be very fun.”
A reception will follow with food from Juanderful Tacos, a business a few blocks from GCU founded by alumni Juan and Evelyn Robles; Ice Bocce from SlyDysk, another GCU student-founded company; and more.
This marks a strong finish to the fall semester for Canyon Ventures and the IDEA Club, which will hold its third and final Marketplace at the Quad from 1-6 p.m. Thursday, prior to Canyon Challenge at Sunset Auditorium.
The finalists for the Canyon Challenge are Evan Findley of Bash Events, George Henry of Summit Ag Commodities, Sydney Arrasmith of DroolyBib, Tyler Hildebrand of Grand Connections, and Steele Shumway and Isaac Ballew of Outback Dummy Co.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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