Starving Artists Brewing wins $50,000 Business Momentum grant.

Andrew Thomas makes his pitch to the judges.

VICTORY TOWNSHIP —  Starving Artists Brewing of Amber Township has received a $50,000 grant to help its business grow, following a “Shark Tank” style event Thursday night at West Shore Community College.    

Starving Artists Brewing, owned by Andrew and Michelle Thomas, was among five finalist businesses in the Momentum Business Plan Competition.

The five entrepreneurs presented their business plan in front of a panel of four judges: John Wilson, CEO of Western Land Services and president of the Pennies from Heaven Foundation; Ray Biggs, president and CEO of West Shore Bank; Tom Paine, president of Metalworks, Kathy Mclean, CEO of the Ludington and Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce and Jim Scatena, president and CEO of FloraCraft.

“It was fun to see the energy and passion behind a group of entrepreneurs,” said John Wilson. “To watch all of the people present tonight had to give everyone in this room some warm fuzzies.”

The competition’s finalists included:

All Occasions by WCT

Submitted by: Wendy Morrow & Cheryl Freeman

All Occasions is a full-service event planning and decorating company. They are looking to open an all-inclusive event venue; a place where clients can come and have everything under one roof; ceremony venue, reception venue, full planning, coordinating, catering, hair & make-up, photography and lodging.

Lefevre Corporation

Submitted by: Mark Lefevre

Lefevre Corporation is the designer and producer of a new line of tire recycling equipment that used a unique patented blade system, which is capable of cutting tire rubber into a consistent size granulated piece, which is what the tire recycling industry has been demanding, but have up to this point been unable to achieve.

Makers’ Market

Submitted by: Erica Karmeisool

Markers’ Market will be a community makers space and retail market in downtown Ludington.  A shared workspace where people can work in metal, wood, ceramics, etc. with a gallery in the public foyer showcasing some of the created items that are for sale. The facility will be used for skills training as well as by entrepreneurs developing a product or artwork.

Starving Artist Brewing

Submitted by: Andrew Thomas

Starving Artist Micro-brewery is a new Ludington based brewery that focuses on using local ingredients.  Their success in the first phase of their business has them looking to expand and enter the second phase that includes additional equipment, expanded distribution and alternative packaging/canning.

Stuart Family Organics

Submitted by: Jim Stuart

Stuart Family Organics is an organic wheat farm and bakery. They sell their products primarily at Farmer’s Markets.  Their long range goal is to expand the company by increasing the acreage they farm and increasing their product distribution to retail outlets.

For more information, visit www.momentumstartup.org or www.facebook.com/momentumstartup.