Winners announced in Catalyst Columbus pitch competition

Organizers of the recent Catalyst Columbus pitch competition are announcing the three winners of the inaugural event.

According to the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, the event was designed to foster regional entrepreneurship and featured pitches from 20 startup businesses. The competition awarded $20,000 to Bartholomew and Jackson County entrepreneurs.

First place prizes of $7,500 were awarded to CayPops Bakery, founded by recent Columbus North High School graduate Caylyn Pruitt, and Tiny Kindness, led by Rachel Hunt.

A third place award of $3,000 went to Pendulum started by Eric Silver and a $2,000 award went to fourth place award winner Sitka Nursery and Tyler Short. Stephanie Strothmann earned $1,000 for Purple Shamrock Farm.

Judges were Brian Riley, CEO at Guardian Bikes; Maria Wilkins, Technical Advisor at Cummins; and Lena Blackstock, Partner at Process/Practice Studio.

The Catalyst Pitch Competition was made possible through the support of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Duke Energy, the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, and Catalyst Columbus.