Innovation Collective in Coeur d’Alene hears from founders

COEUR d'ALENE — People often celebrate Wednesday as the midpoint of the week. But at last Wednesday’s Startup Pitch Contest, five local founders hoped it would be just the beginning. 

More than 60 people gathered at the Innovation Collective in downtown Coeur d’Alene to hear founders pitch their startup to a panel of judges. At stake was a $1,700 cash prize and a half-day advisory program from Aspect43, valued at $20,000.

“I really appreciate how supportive this community is of founders," said Luke Dupin, co-founder of Anchor. “Everyone here is so excited to share their resources and connections, and I’m so grateful for that.”

The founder presented companies in fields as diverse as social media to midwifery. In the end, the judges awarded the grand prize to BuyWander.com, a Spokane-based company that auctions returned retail items at a large discount. Their mission is to salvage some of the $1 trillion worth of goods that are returned by U.S. consumers annually, a press release said.

Two projects tied in a crowd-favorite vote.

The first was Conceler, which is working to give everyone access to a speedy trial. Many people spend months in jail awaiting trial, which, as Conceler founder Gabriel Buehler explained, often results “in lost jobs, homes and even families.” Reducing the time defendants spend awaiting trial while in jail will also save millions in taxpayer money. 

The other audience favorite, Anchor, aims to use AI to increase transparency in government. Anchor tracks donations from special interest groups to bill sponsors and allows voters to upload proposed bills so they can ask questions about the legislation in plain language. 

Regardless of who won the prizes, all the founders enjoyed the outpouring of community support, the release said.

“The community here supporting startups is so beyond my expectations,” said Jordan Allen, CEO of BuyWander, “and I’m so thankful to be a part of it.”

“This came together so naturally,” said Kirsten Moore, current community lead at the Innovation Collective. “During our Christmas party last year, I decided to get donations for a silent auction, and you wonderful nerds voted to use the funds for local startups. Now, here we are.”

In 2018, Coeur d’Alene was called “Idaho’s startup hub” after a study by the Brookings Institute found that the city had the highest concentration of startups among Idaho metropolitan areas. 

The new community lead at the Innovation Collective, Roman Massey, intends to host future pitch contests at least biannually. 

“We’re all neighbors here,” Massey said. “People want to hear about the cool stuff that’s happening right here in their community.