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And then there were five.
A contest to find and equip Atlanta’s most promising exporters has whittled its list from 38 initial $5,000 winners to a few finalists who will vie for $35,000 more in prize money to further their overseas sales efforts.
Fourteen companies made their cases before a panel of judges during a “pitch day” Aug. 24 that boosters likened to a “Shark Tank” for exporters. (One presenter targeting Germany even showed up in lederhosen for added effect).
They were tasked with sharing how they used the first $5,000 in grant funding and outlining plans for how they would use the grand prize. Now it’s (partly) up to the public to put the finalists over the finish line.
The top five have been profiled including videos of their pitches on the Atlanta Export Portal’s website, which is taking votes until Sept. 20. Those votes will be combined with the judges’ scores to determine the winners. One will take home $20,000, while the second-place winner will be provided with $10,000, followed by $5,000 for third. They are to be revealed at a Sept. 20 luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown.
The finalists include:
- Aventure Aviation, a spare airplane parts supplier which gets 80 percent of revenues from exports and plans to use the grant money to expand market share in China and open an office among Ireland’s airplane leasing companies. Aventure is also planning a major headquarters expansion to meet demand fueled by its export sales.
- AdEdge Technologies, a provider of industrial-scale water-filtration systems which sees 40 percent of its sales from exports and plans to enter the Indian market to help with the country’s arsenic problem. The company is already active in markets like Chile.
- DDM Systems, a pioneering additive manufacturing startup that grew out of Georgia Tech, which wants to build its sales book in Europe.
- Pure Air Filtration, a gas filtration technology for sewage treatment plants and industrial applications, which depends on exports for about a quarter of existing sales and hopes to find customers in Europe and the Middle East.
- United Sciences, which uses 3D scanning technology to help aerospace manufacturers measure and inspect and remedy cavities and plans to target Europe and Asia. The technology was initially used to conduct imaging for ear cavities for custom hearing aids.
The companies are all small or medium-sized companies; none have more than 40 employees. Other than DDM, all have substantial international sales.
The Metro Export Challenge began earlier this year, announcing its first 38 companies at an Export Stories event with Global Atlanta in January.
It is administered by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, which collaborated with economic development organizations from around the metro area to get the word out to companies about the contest.
It was designed to increase export engagement as an offshoot of the Metro Export Plan among existing exporters and those new to the game. It was conducted as an offshoot from the Brookings Institution’s Global Cities Initiative, which resulted in a metro area-wide plan for export promotion. The funding has been provided by JPMorgan Chase. Nearly 70 companies entered the initial contest.