Business Ideas Ready to be ‘Pitched’ at Relaunch Event | Cut Bank Pioneer Press

Entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes, ages and stages, are invited to “Business Pitch In” at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at the Cut Bank Creek Brewery.

“Business Pitch In” events throughout the region are designed to give business-minded dreamers, thinkers, makers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and community members the space to share ideas, pitch crazy stuff, and meet like-minded people.

Brenda Schilling, Executive Director of the Glacier County Regional Port Authority, attended the first business pitch event in Cut Bank launched through a collaborative effort in 2019.

“’Pitching In’ is all about the market research that someone can gather from potential customers and identifying the professionals available to help them move a business idea forward,” Schilling said.

 Presenters will be given 3-5 minutes to “pitch” a business idea. Attendees then have 5-10 minutes to ask follow up and clarifying questions. 

“Our goal with Business Pitch In events is to inspire and support entrepreneurs,” Jason Nitschke, Regional Director of the Great Falls area Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Vice President at Great Falls Development Authority (GFDA), said. “Whether someone is thinking of starting a business or adding a new product or service to an existing one, these types of pitch events are being used nationwide to connect entrepreneurs with resources while gathering insights from potential customers.”

The event is set up to be informal and fun, yet productive enough to encourage business ideas to move into action. It is free to attend and to present. Pre-registration is encouraged at www.tinyurl.com/business-pitch-in. 

“The partners organizing this originally started doing pitch events throughout the region in late 2019 and early 2020,” Rich Gannon said. Gannon is Cut Bank-based small business advisor with GFDA. “Then COVID put a stop to in-person events. We are relaunching these pitch events now because the last two years affected us all. Many people have started thinking about starting a business on the side, becoming fully self-employed, or are trying to diversify their existing business.”

Cut Bank Creek Brewery, owned locally by Kim and Louis Stoltz, is located at 315 Railroad Street in Cut Bank.

The event is a collaborative effort of the Glacier County Regional Port Authority, the Cut Bank Chamber of Commerce, Great Falls Development Authority, Sweetgrass Development, the Montana Small Business Development Centers, the Women’s Business Center at the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab (W.E.L.L.), and the Accelerate Montana Rural Innovation Initiative. 

 For more information about the event please contact Rich Gannon with the Great Falls Development Authority at [email protected] or call or text 406-836-2078

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Montana Department of Commerce. Great Falls Development Authority is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a 501(c)3 charitable organization.