Big Idea

• Entrepreneurs with a moonshot start-up idea or seasoned founders wanting to expand their businesses are encouraged to apply
• It’s free to participate
• You can compete to win cash prizes and Moonshot scholarships
• Plus you get start-up and pitch education by certified business analysts
• Read more...

We can’t all be astronauts, but we can be pioneers.

Yavapai County – Yavapai College, Yavapai College SBDC, and Moonshot at NACET are proud to announce the AZ Pioneer Pitch Competition Tour—an entrepreneurship contest similar to ABC’s Shark Tank—is coming to the Quad Cities. 

Ok, so let’s take a minute to define a couple of these alphabet abbreviations: 

Yavapai College SBDC: That’s the Yavapai College Small Business Development Center

Moonshot at NACET: Moonshot is a 20-year-old nonprofit organization that provides strategic services for entrepreneurs to start and grow companies that create jobs. NACET is the campus called Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, which is in Flagstaff.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur with a moonshot start-up idea or a seasoned founder with a business you’d like to expand, participation in the event is free of charge. 

The final event, which is sponsored by APS, Live Plan, AZ Commerce Authority, and VVREO, will be held on March 25, 2022 at the Prescott Campus. 

Entrants must apply by February, 23rd, 2022. 

In addition to competing to win cash prizes and Moonshot scholarships, entrants will also receive start-up and pitch education led by the Yavapai College SBDC team of certified business analysts. Workshops will run from 5 - 7 p.m. on February 23, March 2, March 9, and March 23. Participants will be prompted to sign up for the workshops after completing the Pioneer Pitch Application.

“I am honored to be working alongside Moonshot at NACET in support of area entrepreneurs and to expanding this competition into another corner of Yavapai County,” Ruth Ellen Elinski, Center Director at SBDC said. “The competition continues to empower business owners and provides opportunities to learn new skills and strengthen their business overall.”

Participants prepare, practice, and perfect a 5-minute pitch presentation for a panel of judges who select the finalists. The winner of the Quad Cities Pioneer Pitch Competition will go on to compete in the state-wide competition for a $10,000 cash prize from sponsor APS. The event, which also honors successful Moonshot entrepreneurs throughout Arizona, will be held in Flagstaff at Little America Hotel on June 17, 2022. 

Event Sponsors: Moonshot at NACET, Yavapai College SBDC, Yavapai College, APS, Liveplan, Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization (VVREO), Yavapai Broadcasting Corporation, and Business Development Finance Corporation (BDFC).

About Yavapai College: Yavapai College offers life-changing personalized education, career training, lifelong learning and workforce development opportunities online and in person at six locations across beautiful Yavapai County, AZ.

About Moonshot at NACET: Moonshot at NACET is an entrepreneur development program that promotes the creation and sustainable growth of local business. It offers multi-track programs to help businesses become ready for the market as well as entrepreneurship mentoring, speaker series and community events