Lake Trust Foundation opens $20,000 founder pitch contest

By Daniel Okafor

The Lake Trust Foundation will award $20,000 in prizes to local entrepreneurs at its inaugural Entrepreneur Pitch Competition on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lake Trust Credit Union Headquarters, 4605 S. Old U.S. 23 in Brighton. The announcement does not specify the year.

How much funding is at stake?

Four cash awards divide the entire pool:

• First place: $10,000.
• Second place: $5,000.
• Third place: $3,500.
• Audience Choice: $1,500.

Together, the four cash awards consume the full announced $20,000 pool, leaving no separately funded category beyond those four placements.

Attendees will vote for their favorite pitch and select the entrepreneur who receives $1,500 as Audience Choice. That payout equals half the second-place award.

The structure separates the larger ranked purse from popular-vote recognition. It also gives attendees a direct role in allocating one part of the foundation's community funding.

Who is eligible, and how does the event work?

The competition serves as the grand finale for local, small business owners who completed the Lake Trust Entrepreneurship Institute, or LTEI, a free and exclusive online business program at Cleary University.

LTEI graduates will present their businesses and compete for funding to support continued growth. The foundation's announcement calls the format a “Shark Tank” type of competition. The public is invited to attend, and attendees can vote for the Audience Choice award.

The announcement gives prize amounts but no judging rubric, application deadline or formal funding conditions. It also provides no ticket price or registration details beyond an invitation to participate. The announcement describes a public showcase and a cash contest, but it does not disclose how many LTEI graduates will pitch.

For participants, the stated sequence is simple: complete LTEI, reach the finale, pitch the business and compete for the four awards.

What does a related winner report show?

Related competition coverage identifies Emily Stone, founder of Whole Mama Michigan in Brighton, as the recent grand prize winner, and says the result secured $5,000 for her business.

Emily Stone's Whole Mama Michigan launched in 2025. The business says it “changes the way moms are born.”

That $5,000 figure conflicts with the published prize schedule, which reserves $10,000 for first place and assigns $5,000 to second place, while the report provides no explanation for the difference. Neither the announcement nor the related update reconciles the two figures. The report therefore appears to attach the published second-place amount to the winner.

The main announcement presents the Nov. 5 event as upcoming, while the related coverage calls Stone a recent winner. Readers therefore face two unresolved details: the amount Stone received and the competition's actual timing. The announcement gives no year, and the related update gives no date for her win.

What else has the foundation funded?

The Lake Trust Foundation describes itself as an independent charitable organization of Lake Trust Credit Union.

Outside the pitch contest, the foundation has awarded five scholarships to Michigan residents, including three from Livingston County, who are furthering their education. The New Beginnings and Michigan Impact scholarships recognize and support Michiganders pursuing an education. The related report does not specify the fields of study or individual award amounts.

The foundation also received 2,796 donated personal care packs containing deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash and razors. The packs are intended for distribution to eight Michigan organizations. The foundation does not name the eight recipients.

Lake Trust Credit Union will also donate 1,250 pairs of Bombas socks and an additional $1,500 to one or more recipients. The related notice does not identify those recipients or explain the additional cash.

What should readers watch next?

Until the foundation resolves the apparent $5,000 grand-prize conflict, the published schedule offers the clearest guide: $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second, $3,500 for third and $1,500 by audience vote. Readers should also verify the year attached to Thursday, Nov. 5 before relying on the date.

For founders, the contest turns course completion into possible growth capital. Its longer-term test is whether those prizes help LTEI graduates sustain growth, which the foundation names as the funding's purpose.