Show of Hands – March 28th!

Four years ago, Emporia Main Street had an opportunity to participate in a study by the Brookings Institute. The study focused on the practices of three Main Street programs in the rural communities of Laramie, Wyoming; Wheeling, West Virginia; and Emporia, Kansas. While researchers were busy studying us, each community got the chance to study each other. We learned a lot by looking at Laramie and Wheeling, and one of the Wheeling internal programs seemed to fit a need in our region. “Show of Hands” is an entrepreneurial pitch concept that ties community members to real startups/expansions of locally owned businesses to foster growth.

Show of Hands resembles many pitch competitions with a few key differences. First, the Show of Hands concept is open to anyone starting or significantly expanding a business in Lyon County. The competition doesn’t limit itself to certain age ranges or organizational/institutional affiliations. Second, the community can get involved by voting for their favorite concepts with their dollars. The Show of Hands concept invites the public to the pitches with a cover charge, and that charge is converted to a grant to the entrepreneurial concept of their choice. Third, actual potential additional investors will be part of the competition, and can provide additional investment dollars for businesses that meet qualifications. Finally, and this is a REALLY important distinction: the dollars raised for individual entrepreneurs are distributed as a grant to offset actual business startup or expansion expenses for businesses starting up or expanding in Lyon County. This is not a public speaking contest or a theoretical pitch; Show of Hands is real dollars for real businesses. For more information on the event and to submit an application, visit: https://emporiamainstreet.com/programs/business/showofhands/.