August 30, 2022
New blockchain businesses will compete in the 307 Startup Challenge Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede.
The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is presented by the University of Wyoming Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation (CBDI) Sept. 19-23. Registration for the event is free at www.fbcinc.com/e/wyblockchainstampede/. Rules and the entry form for the 307 Startup Challenge can be found at https://uwyo.startuptree.co.
Sponsored by Blue Ocean, the 307 Startup Challenge is for new, independent blockchain businesses in the seed, startup or early-growth stages that are focused on technology and/or innovation. Generally excluded are the following: buyouts, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, franchises, online retail, brick and mortar retail, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, and spinouts from existing corporations.
Fred Schmechel, IMPACT 307 interim director, says partnering with the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede and WyoHackathon will provide opportunities to showcase 307 Startup Challenge participants offering new entrepreneurial ideas.
“IMPACT 307 has long supported the Blockchain Stampede and WyoHackathon,” Schmechel says. “We look forward to taking our highly successful startup challenge model and applying it to this year’s competition. “
He says all teams must use a Lean Launchpad-based pitch deck and present this information in a seven-minute presentation, followed by a brief question period, to the judging panel Sept. 21. Applicants are “strongly encouraged” to use the IMPACT 307 business model guidance document, which outlines the Lean Launchpad process, in addition to the competition rules document.
The past several months have seen a lot of innovation in digital assets, he says.
“We’re seeing a shift toward value proposition-driven companies and entrepreneurs who are focused on solving problems rather than speculation,” Schmechel says. “The competition is really steering toward that momentum. We’re excited to see what the world’s blockchain leaders are going to come up with for this.”
Wyoming is much more than just a mailbox for the world’s leading blockchain companies, he adds.
“We’ve got an innovation-driven ecosystem for our companies and a support network that includes a leading university, our Workforce Development Training Fund’s internship grant for Wyoming students, and our IMPACT incubators that are poised to assist blockchain companies that want to grow here with our best-in-the-world blockchain legal environment,” Schmechel says.
“The 307 Startup Challenge helps connect what we are doing at the University of Wyoming and the groundbreaking digital asset laws that the Wyoming Legislature has approved in recent years,” says Steve Lupien, CBDI director.
IMPACT 307 is a statewide network of Wyoming innovation-driven business incubators committed to growing and strengthening Wyoming’s entrepreneurial community by providing resources and support for founders to thrive.
UW’s CBDI is an interdisciplinary center focused on emerging technologies to foster innovation, economic development and education.
For more information about the 307 Startup Challenge, email fschmech@uwyo.edu.
