HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Oct. 30, 2025) – Thank you to everyone who attended P.R.OP.E.L., our first Small Business and Entrepreneurship Summit! We congratulate this year’s outstanding founders and small business leaders, who are each driving North Alabama’s entrepreneurial spirit forward and ‘PROPEL’ling our community toward a stronger, more connected future.
Here are the pitch competition winners:
NextSTAGE Competition:
First Place: Kalm Therapeutics ($25,000)
Second Place: SetaTech ($15,000)
Third Place: BrakeSens ($7,500)
Audience Choice Award: Zaden Technologies ($2,500)
IdeaSTAGE Competition:
First Place: Valor Scientific ($5,000)
Second Place: The ARAH Company ($2,500)
Third Place: Print Note ($1,500)
Audience Choice Award: SafeBlock ($1,000)
The Solution Lab/Mission Match was the third pitch competition. Those contestants pitched their ideas straight to investors for possible funding.
Read more about P.R.O.P.E.L.
Photos from Day 1 (October 28, 2025)
Photos from Day 2 (October 29, 2025)
