Meet the 2023 Demo Day Winners!
The STL startup community gathered for a night of exciting pitches at the annual OPO Startups Demo Day competition. This year’s Demo Day was nothing short of spectacular, and we are thrilled to announce the talented individuals who emerged as winners!
1st Place: Nicole Fordson, Founder of Next Steps
Nicole Fordson wowed the judges and audience with Next Steps, a visionary solution for attendance reporting and student tracking during emergency incidents. Her innovation promises to revolutionize safety and efficiency in educational institutions. Nicole's dedication and ingenuity earned her the prestigious first-place title and won $1500+!
2nd Place: Kerry Ritter, Co-founder and CTO of Zipper
Kerry Ritter secured second place with a groundbreaking AI concept. Zipper is an AI-powered website builder equipped with business and growth tools tailored for fitness entrepreneurs. Kerry's vision for simplifying online business creation left a lasting impression on the judges and won $500+.
Finalists: Graham Mueller and Mahdi Jadaliha
Our Demo Day wouldn't be complete without recognizing the incredible finalists who shared their remarkable ideas. Graham Mueller, Co-founder and CEO of BleacherBook, a sports betting meets fantasy app. And Mahdi Jadaliha, Co-founder of ClockTo, a employee management software application that helps schedule staff and manage shifts. They both displayed outstanding innovation and dedication to their ventures and walked away with a little cash as well!
We extend our congratulations to all the winners and finalists of OPO Demo Day 2023. Your creativity and determination are shaping the future of technology and entrepreneurship. We can't wait to see where your journeys take you next!
We would like to extend a huge thank you to our judges, audience and all of our sponsors! Without you this event wouldn’t be possible.
Judges: Jim Eberlin, Dan Lauer, Steve Trampe, Ashok Kumar, & Thomas Redd
Sponsors: EDC, OPO Startups Foundation, Lindenwood, MTC & STLstartupweek
