Entrepreneurs from Oconomowoc, Madison pitch businesses to ‘Project Pitch It’ moguls

This week’s episode of “Project Pitch It” featured Wisconsin businesses selling everything from cheese and wine to uniquely designed plush toys and innovative wheelchair technology.

During episode five of season eight of “Project Pitch It,” the show’s moguls decided to award each presenting entrepreneur with $5,500 in addition to one of three awards, which each come with mentoring.

Madison-based Tricky Foods won this week’s Peg Ann & David Gruber Project Pitch It Award, which is aimed at helping startups scale their business.

Tricky Foods, founded by Therese Merkel, is a cheese and charcuterie shop and wine bar that features an event space, located in Madison’s Bay Creek neighborhood.

In 2020, Merkel quit her corporate job in IT, right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This unexpected challenge inspired her to pursue her lifelong passion for food. Cheese and charcuterie boards became a popular trend during the pandemic, yet no one had attempted to break into the market in the Madison area.

Starting with a small “quarantine cup,” Merkel began building Tricky Foods to offer larger charcuterie boxes and grazing tables as demand for her products grew. After three years, Tricky Foods was able to move from a shared commercial space to its own brick and mortar location. Nine people currently work for the company.

The business also offers in-person and virtual workshops to customers looking to build their own boards.

“My biggest dream with the business is to keep expanding it,” said Merkel. “I really feel like we cracked the code on processes and repeatable things that we can make into a franchise business.”

Delafield and Milwaukee are possible expansion markets for Tricky Foods.

Oconomowoc entrepreneur Troy Tesmer and his business Soul Mobility took home the Jerry Jendusa BREAKTHRU/UW-Milwaukee Award. Muskego-based BreakthruU will provide business mentoring services to the startup.

Soul Mobility’s flagship innovation is the Power-Flex, a power attachment that converts multiple U.S. and international brands of wheelchairs into a joystick driven power wheelchair.

“For a manual user, maneuvering the various terrains in our environment can be challenging,” said Tesmer. “My co-founder (Todd Hargroder) is a quadriplegic. He had been pushing (his wheelchair) for over 30 years.”

Tesmer explained he’s witnessed firsthand the stress and physical toll pushing a wheelchair has had on Hargroder’s body.

Soul Mobility is currently in the process of validating its product. There is a unit of Power-Flex attachments being evaluated to make sure it meets all current industry standards. That unit will then be submitted for FDA approval.

Dr. Ronak Mehta, founder of Madison-based Nerdbugs, won the We Energies/Milwaukee Admirals Award. We Energies and the Milwaukee Admirals will provide at least one session of mentoring in the area of marketing.

Mehta is a family medicine doctor who’s created a toy company in the hopes of making learning about the human body fun. Nerdbugs sells anatomically correct plush toys which represent different parts of the body.

“When I was in medical school, I would often see hospitalized and post-op patients being gifted flowers and generic teddy bears that would quickly be tossed aside and discarded,” said Mehta. “They shouted mediocrity, and I knew my patients deserved better.”

While Nerdbugs are meant for fun, they’re also used to facilitate conversations on physical and mental health. Since being founded in 2018, the startup has grown from selling just five plushies to about 20. Mehta aspires to have an accompanying animated series featuring her plushies, along with a children’s book.

Nerdbugs only sells its products online but is currently considering retail expansion. The company is making revenue in the “multi six figures” range, said Mehta.

“Project Pitch It” airs on WISN-TV Channel 12 in Milwaukee and on TV stations throughout Wisconsin. Those stations include Green Bay (WBAY-TV Channel 2), Madison (WKOW-TV Channel 27), La Crosse (WKBT-TV Channel 8), and Wausau (WSAW/WYOW TV Channel 7). BizTimes Milwaukee is a media partner for “Project Pitch It.”