OIWC Announces Judges for Second Annual Pitchfest

The Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition (OIWC) has announced the judges for its second annual Pitchfest. Pitchfest will be held prior to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market on Tuesday, August 2 in Salt Lake City. Finalists will live pitch to the judging panel and gain insight, visibility, and valuable feedback on their business.

Judges for this year’s event include:

● Sally McCoy, Outdoor Industry Leader and Entrepreneur

● Jerry Stritzke, President and CEO of REI

● Dan Nordstrom, CEO of Outdoor Research

● Jill Layfield, OIWC Board Member; Former CEO of Backcountry.com and Technology, and Outdoor Industry Leader

● Susan Viscon, OIWC Board Member; Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Private Brands, REI

● Matt Compton, Technology Entrepreneur and Investor, COO of Simple Finance

Applications for Pitchfest will close on Saturday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. MST. Interested applicants can submit their application online at www.oiwc.org/Pitchfest.

“Pitchfest provides a dedicated channel for women business owners to inspire creativity, innovation, and growth in the active outdoor industries,” said Deanne Buck, executive director of OIWC. “Judges were selected based on their business acumen, product development expertise, industry influence, as well as their commitment to innovation within the industry.”

Finalists are chosen based on their initial applications and will be announced in May.

Pitchfest was launched in 2015 as the cornerstone of OIWC’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Workshop and is funded in part by The REI Foundation’s Mary Anderson Legacy Grant. In its inaugural year, 11 companies were chosen to live pitch their business.

For additional information about applying to Pitchfest, attending Pitchfest, or additional information about this year’s judges, visit www.oiwc.org/Pitchfest.