About Bowhunting Science Inc.

Brandon was in his final semester at the University of South Dakota taking an Entrepreneurship I class whose final project was to conceptualize a business idea and write a business plan. A couple weeks after graduation Brandon received an e-mail from his Entrepreneurship I professor congratulating him on being chosen to compete in USD’s Extraordinary Idea Competition (a business idea competition for USD students). Realizing what an opportunity this was, Brandon recruited his good friend and fellow bowhunter John Warner to collaborate on putting together a presentation for the competition. Both of their hard work and preparation paid off, as Brandon was awarded top honors in the competition winning $1000 and six months of rent free office space in the Three Rivers Business Resource Center…and the snowball begins rolling!

The contacts that John and Brandon made following the Extraordinary Idea Competition lead them to applying to the South Dakota Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition. The South Dakota Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition is a statewide competition that recognizes aspiring South Dakota entrepreneurs or established business people with new business ideas. The application deadline for the Giant Vision Competition was only weeks away and John and Brandon needed to have a solid business plan to submit, as the business plan was the only bit of information used to select the participants for the Giant Vision Competition. Through many long days of information gathering, researching, and writing, the two had put together an impressive business plan.

Eureka, they were in! Bowhunting Science Inc. was one of twelve businesses that were selected to compete in the 2009 South Dakota Governor’s Giant Vision Competition. On a side note: John and Brandon could have chosen to apply for the student division but the upside for the main competition was so much greater ($$$) and would give them more credibility and exposure as a legitimate business start-up. Despite all the hard work and preparation for the competition, Bowhunting Science Inc. did not win any prize money. However, John and Brandon did take away a great deal from the experience. They continued making important contacts along with gaining practice in talking to potential investors. Not all was lost though. During preparation for the Giant Vision Competition John and Brandon were directed toward a relatively new accelerator program put on by the N2TEC Institute.

The N2TEC Institute’s accelerator program has roots in California and focuses on bringing the wealth creation process to rural regions of the United States through the development of methods and best practices for the innovation and commercialization of new technologies that will enhance the economic well-being of those regions (http://www.n2tec.org/). After making it through a grueling selection process, John and Brandon were excited to find out that they were selected to the accelerator program. What was even more exciting was the fact that they were one of only four start-ups that received a $15,000 grant to accompany the accelerator program. The eight-week accelerator program kicked off with an intense and hard hitting week long boot camp that prepared the participants for starting their business, which included lessons on distribution channels, commercialization of their product, and preparing investment pitches. Not only were the lessons helpful but the contacts that Bowhunting Science Inc. continued to make were invaluable. John and Brandon now had experts in entrepreneurship at their disposal. Through the rest of the eight-week program Bowhunting Science Inc. worked on putting together their engineering team and manufacturing channels. At the completion of the program, Bowhunting Science Inc. was immeasurably ahead of where they would have been without the program. Since completing the program in July of 2009, John and Brandon have worked with city officials on establishing a business in their home town of Yankton, South Dakota.

Bowhunting Science Inc. will be moving into their new office by the end of September and are projecting to have a working prototype to test by late archery season 2009. Check out the “Products” page to learn more about Bowhunting Science Inc.’s flagship product.