140. 2023 One Utah Summit Startup Pitch Finalists

Season 5 Episode 22: This episode features a conversation with the finalists of the 2023 One Utah Summit Startup Pitch competition. Listen as Pete Codella, managing director of business services at the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, interviews the three award winners – Pam Sitterud, co-founder of Dentacōr (first place and people’s choice), D.J. Potter, CEO of Sawtooth (second place), and Greg Scott, CEO of SRT Labs (third place).

The governor-sponsored Startup Pitch competition is an entrepreneurial speed-pitch challenge where judges rank the best ideas, and the audience selects a people’s choice award recipient. The Utah Innovation Center, part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, presents the Startup Pitch annually. Kinect Capital powers the competition in partnership with Weber State University’s Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center.

Sitterud, co-founder of Dentacōr, a company that brings dental exams to the workplace or home, informs listeners what led her to start the company, what piqued her interest to enter the Startup Pitch competition, and the mentoring she received to prepare her for competition. She also discusses the importance of entrepreneurs being able to listen, the status of trademarking Dentacōr’s equipment, and much more.

Next, Potter, CEO of Sawtooth, a company that provides high-quality, durable truck Tonneau covers, tells listeners why he decided to participate in the competition and what he gained from the experience. He elaborates on the company’s intellectual property, his aspirations for the company, its challenges, how he plans to use the prize money, and much more.

Scott, CEO of SRT Labs, a service robotics and technologies company, explains what the company’s software does and the impetus for creating it. He also tells listeners about his experience participating in the competition, why he decided to start his business in Utah four years ago, his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs, and much more.