On Wednesday night, the first KIC Small Business Mini Lab ended the way it was designed to: with every participant standing in front of the room and pitching the business they're building in 90 seconds.
Presented by Keystone Innovation Collaborative and supported by M&T Bank, the free five-week lab met on Wednesday evenings from September 23 through October 21 at KIC's headquarters, 2 West Market Street in downtown York. Owners from across York and Lancaster counties worked on the businesses they're actually running, and each one left with tools they can put to work the next morning:
A business on one page. Owners mapped their entire business on a single canvas, then turned it into the one-pager a banker wants to see.
AI that does real work. A hands-on session with free tools for customer follow-up, marketing and paperwork.
A plan for protecting what they've built. A CPA, an attorney and M&T's treasury team covered ownership, taxes, bookkeeping and fraud.
A pitch that lands. Participants built and rehearsed a 90-second pitch with ASSETS, then delivered it live at Pitch Night.
Meet the Pitch Night Winners
Three owners took home cash prizes on Wednesday night.
FIRST PLACE | $500
Minds Matter Educational Services | Adelle Campbell
Minds Matter provides high-quality school psychology and advocacy services to local school districts and families.
SECOND PLACE | $300
Crown & Co Beauty Lounge | Shaira Brito
Crown & Co is a hair salon offering specialty services in hair color, Dominican blowouts and trims.
THIRD PLACE | $200
The Spotted Guinea (Fastidious Finds) | Tracey Holman
Tracey is preparing to launch The Spotted Guinea, which will sell estate, vintage and costume jewelry alongside small antiques and collectibles for customers with good taste who value quality.
“Every owner in this cohort spent five Wednesday evenings working on their business while still running it,” said Martin Fedorko, Interim Executive Director of Keystone Innovation Collaborative. “You could see that work on Pitch Night. Adelle, Shaira and Tracey stood out, but every participant left with a sharper plan, a stronger pitch, and a network of people in York who want to see them succeed. That’s what this lab was built to do.”
Thank You
Thank you to M&T Bank for supporting the lab, and to our friends at ASSETS, Finanta, and every presenter and partner who gave their Wednesday evenings to York's small business community. Most of all, thank you to the owners who showed up every week and did the work.
Read more about the program in our announcement post, and visit keystoneinnovate.com to stay connected with future KIC programs.
