PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA, March 17, 2022. – As host of the Governor’s Giant Vision Business and Student Business Competitions, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board Chair Brian Sandvig, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Milbank, recently announced the qualifying applicants for the 2022 Business and Student competitions.
The following were selected by a panel of judges as the top qualifying entries that will advance to the next level of the competition held Thursday, April 14 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The competitor display area in Exhibit Hall 1 will be open to the public from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon.
BUSINESS COMPETITORS: The following new business ventures are competing for a top prize of $20,000.
- AMBER LLC (Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor with Electrolytic Regeneration – offers an on-site wastewater reuse system), Maryam Amouamouha, Rapid City
- Blue Sky Holdings LLC (Minimally invasive medical device to surgically stabilize rib fractures to accelerate recovery), Tung Nguyen, Ryan Oines and Steven Briggs, Sioux Falls
- E Glass Industries LLC (After market fiber reinforced composite auto body panels, designs and builds molds), Alexander Ellett, Redfield
- Prairie BioTechnology LLC (Product that can extend shelf life of fruit; a food preservative derived from a proprietary oilseed fermentation process), Matthew Cole, Logan Wolf, Jordan Traub and Ian Schuh, Brookings
- Provender Technologies LLC (Modernizing cattle feeding with automated feeding system –automated, remotely accessible, and data driven), Henry Wegehaupt, Dimock
- Thaumachron (De novo generation of patient-specific biologics that require only antigen sequences, allowing for cost effective, personalized, and patient specific treatments), Andrew Simpson, Rapid City
STUDENT COMPETITORS: Students are vying for a $5,000 first place prize for the best business idea.
- Dangler Bio (Model training devices and program for doctors/surgeons), Alex Dangler, University of South Dakota
- Disappex LLC (Resin for 3D printers that will dissolve in water; initial application is molds for manufacturing products), Whytneigh Duffie, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
- Envision 3D (Custom gaming accessories), Justice Forster and Pack Forster, Dakota State University
- ITE Solutions LLC (Automated asphalt paving system, fleet tracking and data collection), Nick Degen, Ben Diersen, Rick Kittelson and Kade Griesse, South Dakota State University
- Li-Tech Lures LLC (Patented fishing lure that allows user to control action of the tail), Philip Litecky, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
- PureGem (Modular, mini high purity germanium detector (HPGe) system for educational organizations and hobbyists seeking affordable, high-end radiation detection systems), Abbie Woodard, University of South Dakota
- Send & Sim (A mechanical solution to enhance the realism of a defibrillator simulation), Eric Beehler, Madison Mingo and James Smith, South Dakota State University
- Solar Nanotech (Nano films designed to improve solar panel efficiency), Kim Yip Chiok, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
- SYNOZYME (Enzymatic biodegradation of un-recyclable consumer plastic products), Tawnie Williams, Northern State University
Events on April 14 include time for judges to visit with each competitor in a trade show-type environment, followed by individual private presentations to the panel of judges. Competitors are judged on a variety of factors that include their formal presentation and specifics such as market, opportunity, potential for job creation, financial plan, management and the potential to increase the GDP of South Dakota.
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.
Giant Vision is a program of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry, made possible by financial support for prize money from Governor Noem’s Office of Economic Development. These funds are matched by the following businesses to generate additional prize money and funds necessary to run the event. (No public funds are used to run the competition.)
Student Competition sponsors: Citibank N.A. and SD EPSCoR. Business Competition sponsors: Black Hills Energy, Christiansen Land & Cattle, Ltd., Dacotah Bank, First National Bank in Sioux Falls, First PREMIER Bank, MidAmerican Energy Company, NorthWestern Energy, Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Wheeler Manufacturing and Xcel Energy.