PORT ANGELES — Timothy Visi of Sequim won the Entrepreneurial Challenge and a $5,000 grant for his business — Umami Sea Vegetables — at the Lincoln Center in Port Angeles on Thursday.
The two runners-up were R Software Co., an online educational platform run by CEO Craig Conway and partner Pat Owens of Port Angeles, and BSG Enterprises, a bookkeeping service for small businesses owned by Becky McGinty, also of Port Angeles.
Each received a $1,000 grant in the contest hosted by the Clallam Business Incubator and the Peninsula College Entrepreneur Institute.
Six finalists had pitched their business plans to a panel of judges.
After making their formal presentations on Wednesday, each of the finalists gave a three-minute talk at the Incubator at Lincoln Center Thursday night before the awards were announced.
Edible seaweed
Visi’s business grows edible seaweed, including nori, ogo, flatbrush, dulse and wakame, also known as winged kelp.
He hopes to start selling the varieties to grocery stores and restaurants across Western Washington.
Visi wiped away tears as he accepted the award from Incubator director Jim Haguewood and a panel of dignitaries.
“I was finally able to let go,” Visi said after the ceremony.
“There was so much riding on this. I left a perfectly good job at NOAA because I believed in what I was able to do.”
Visi, a biologist who has worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has secured a $40,000 loan from ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, a nonprofit group that supports environmentally conscious companies.
Visi said he will put every cent of the $5,000 to good use — namely investing in saltwater tanks for an operation that can produce biofuels in addition to the saltwater vegetables.
‘Proud of everyone’
“Obviously, as the coordinator, I’m immensely proud of everyone,” said Linty Hopie, Peninsula College entrepreneurship coordinator.
“It was a long journey for a lot of folks, and obviously there are three that rose the top. We are completely proud of the effort and talent and drive that they all exuded.”
Haguewood, who served as master of ceremonies for the event, said he was impressed with the diversity and the passion of the candidates.
The other finalists were SEMinArts LLC, a training, consulting and marketing company founded by Carolyn Cooper of Port Angeles; the Port Angeles Farmers Market, open every Saturday at the Clallam County Courthouse parking lot and managed by Michele d’Hemecourt; and IMPACT Product Development & Marketing, owned by Brad Griffith of Sequim, which helps inventors get their products to market and makes competition kits for Boy Scouts.
Finalists were chosen from a pool of 29 entries. Thirteen of those submitted formal business plans April 22, Haguewood said.
Sixteen mentors worked with the entrepreneurs during the process.
“Over 30 people helped make this happen,” Haguewood told the crowd.
During the presentation, Haguewood talked of four keys to entrepreneurship: vision, passion, taking risks and being an innovator.
Before the winners were announced, guest speaker Nelson Ludlow — the CEO, director and founder of Intellicheck Mobilisa Inc. — talked about entrepreneurship.
Ludlow, of Port Townsend, used a $7,500 loan to build his business from scratch in 2001. It now has 55 employees and $12 million in annual revenue.
Ludlow said that smaller, rural places like the North Olympic Peninsula can actually be better places to grow a business than an urban center.
“I like to think that one of the best indicators of success is how many jobs are created,” Ludlow said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
