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Grand Prize
$100k Finalist

Sonrisas Preschool

 Paula & Ben Nichols

$5k Finalists

Abundant Life Childcare - Jennifer Beckmeyer

Chesed Farms - Sundown Hazen

Evergreen Lawn Care - Juan Ramirez

Oscar’s Floor Covering - Oscar Zamora

Rey’s Roast - Regina Weldert

Tiger’s Drywall - Fausto Martinez

Walking Eagle Mobility - Cole & Tiffany Walking Eagle

$25k Finalists

WorthFit Studio - Laura Angulo & Madelyn Free

Twisted Wire Coffee - Brian & Kristi Bartels

$50k Finalist

T Barbershop - Tobit Salazar

2023

HIGHLIGHTS COMING COON

Thank you to all who made Verge Conference a success this year. Our team is grateful for the insights, work, and inspiration that contributed to an amazing event and investment in our community. 

Grow Your Vision

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Inaugural Verge Conference​

Verge is contributing to the success of the brave souls navigating the complexities of bringing ideas to the business space.

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This year's conference is the result of an accelerated plan originally set to start in early 2025. Verge Conference went from an idea on Kindling Coworking's "What do we want to be when we grow up?" white board in mid 2022 to, "When is Gesa Powerhouse Theatre available?" in the span of about 5 months. That acceleration resulted from a grant obtained by the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation and Kindling Coworking.
 

Our first event is a showcase of Walla Walla, Columbia and Garfield county business talent. 
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Verge Conference became real as it was a ready-made plan for disbursing large-scale funding. Subsequent Verge Conferences will be more traditional investment events. 
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This year's event is inspired by our vision for an investment conference, complete with a presentation-based competition for cash prizes. The DWWF's application process resulted in 39 awards and 11 finalists who will compete for top prizes on May 25th.
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Part of our vision is to cultivate a community of entrepreneurs, innovators, and startups. Bringing our Spark Sessions to this year's event provides amazing opportunities to connect and explore ideas that make ideas grow into successful endeavors. 


Topics for Spark Sessions were:

  • Spark Session 1  | Th, Feb 23
    Writing a Compelling & Effective Application 

  • Spark Session 2 | Th, Mar 16
    The power of understanding people 

  • Spark Session 3 | Th, Apr 27 
    Pitch Master - George Perez

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