Enterprize Challenge finalists: from left: Louis Saitowitz, Olive Butler and Sean Ling-Allen. (Submitted photos/CFNO)

By Vernon Matters Staff

Dragons-Den style

Budding entrepreneurs return to live format for Enterprize Challenge

Apr 18, 2022 | 7:00 AM

Another popular event will be making its live return after a two-year pandemic absence

Community Futures North Okanagan, along with sponsor VantageOne, will present the seventh annual Enterprize Challenge at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre stage April 27.

“We’re thrilled to put on the finale in person at the Performing Arts Centre once again. It really adds a whole new level of energy and reinvigorates the whole team and participants. It brings energy back to the program,” said Kazia Mullin, business services manager, CF North Okanagan. “When we first met in February, one of the most commonly asked questions was if participants will be pitching in person.”

Mullin said when that decision was made in March, they could feel the excitement among the participants and it elevated the whole experience.

The 2022 event connected 20 budding entrepreneurs with mentors from the local business community. Between the start of February and the finale on April 27, participants refined their pitch as they engaged in online workshops and one-on-one coaching.

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The challenge culminates in a Dragons Den-style night of live pitches at the Performing Arts Centre where a group of volunteer judges selects a winner out of the seven finalists to take home start-up capital plus thousands of dollars in business services prize packages. The event will also be livestreamed for online viewing.

This year’s finalists include:

Louis Saitowitz, Okanagan Foothills Poultry

A small poultry farm producer, Okanagan Foothills Poultry raises up to 2,000 birds annually and offers poultry processing to local farmers. Under Saitowitz’s new leadership, Okanagan Foothills Poultry will expand to partner with local land owners, who have a minimum five-acre property, to raise poultry. As a result, the property owners attain farm status and the accompanying tax benefits while empowering Okanagan Foothills Poultry to raise more birds on their land. As Okanagan Foothills Poultry continues to grow, Saitowitz envisions working with local grocers to sell the company’s fresh and sustainable poultry. In the future, Saitowitz looks to use his connections as a Red Seal chef to partner with local restaurants to promote Okanagan Foothills Poultry.

Olive Butler, Conspiracy Cosmetics

Conspiracy Cosmetics is a makeup brand that sells natural, low waste, vegan cosmetics with minimal and compostable packaging. Conspiracy Cosmetics encourages its customers to live authentically as themselves through self-expression and their personal lifestyle choices. The brand operates an online store through our website, conspiracycosmetics.ca, so that customers can access our makeup products, no matter where they live. Conspiracy Cosmetics also partners with local storefronts throughout the Okanagan that carry our products.

Sean Ling-Allen, Centred Pilates Studio

Situated on a private orchard in the BX region of the North Okanagan, Centred Pilates Studio began as Ling-Allen’s private home studio. In November 2021, Centred Pilates Studio expanded to offer group classes in a dedicated studio. With two instructors and plans to add a third instructor soon, the studio is dedicated to giving a high-quality Pilates experience to small groups. Empowered by the City of Vernon’s slogan, Activate Life, Centred Pilates Studio dreams of becoming a household name in health and fitness that offers wellness retreats, Pilates education, workshops and other health-focused modalities.

Tickets for the April 27 final pitch are free. Register online through Eventbrite to reserve a spot in the audience. Doors open at 3 p.m.with the pitches starting at 4 p.m. and the winners announced before the finale ends at 7 p.m.