ABERDEEN, S.D. – Entrepreneur Madi Jones was named the winner of the 2026 Aberdeen Business Pitch Competition on Monday evening, earning a $10,000 prize to help bring her business, CR8 Soda, to life.

Four finalists pitched their business ideas before a crowd gathered at Engel’s Event Company in Aberdeen. Finalists included Marquelle Reid with Abode Chiropractic, Madi Jones with CR8 Soda, Jessica Cihak with Everlasting Bloom and Jacquelyn Cutler with Opus ABA LLC.

Hosted by the Northern Innovation and Startup Center in partnership with the Aberdeen Development Corporation, the Aberdeen Business Pitch Competition is designed to inspire entrepreneurship, help early-stage businesses refine their plans and advance promising ideas from concept to launch.

Jones’ winning proposal centers on CR8 Soda, a specialty drink shop she plans to establish in the Aberdeen area. The business concept includes operating from a repurposed, modern shipping container.

“It feels awesome. I don't know if it's set in yet, but I'm excited for sure,” Jones said after being announced as the winner.

This marks Jones’ second business pitch competition victory. She previously won first place in Northern State University’s idea pitch competition in fall 2025. Since then, the Northern senior has continued investing in her business, purchasing shipping containers and equipment while seeking additional resources needed to make her vision a reality.

“In the process of doing this, I've met with a lot of community leaders and business leaders and different investors in the community, and there's just been so many people that I met,” Jones said. “I'm just excited to see where it goes and see where CR8 goes and see what kind of different setups and how many different places we can get to in the next couple of years. So I'm very excited.”

Bea Smith, director of the Northern Innovation and Startup Center, said the competition showcases Aberdeen’s commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation.

“The Aberdeen Business Pitch Competition is always a highlight of the year because Aberdeen really rallies around entrepreneurship and innovation,” Smith said. “Tonight was no exception. We had a room full of people supporting our four finalists that pitched their ideas. It's always just a very encouraging event for entrepreneurs and small business owners here in Northeast South Dakota.”

Smith said the competition gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to think bigger and envision what is possible with investment and support.

“Our goal with a competition like this is really rallying around businesses early in their development, the ones that just need a little investment to launch to the next level, whatever that may mean for the founder,” she said.

She added that the event often creates valuable mentorship opportunities for participants.

“One of the highlights of this event in past years is the opportunity for mentorship that each one of our finalists usually has,” Smith said. “Somebody will reach out to them and say, ‘Hey, I'd love to help you with your idea. How can I help?’ Aberdeen is a very supportive community.”

Now in its third year, Smith said the competition continues to grow stronger and reflects the impact of the Northern Innovation and Startup Center, which has been in operation for four years.

“We're getting to the point where we're seeing these individuals who have come to us with a business idea now on the stage to pitch, which is truly incredible,” she said.

Smith noted that Jones participated in several programs through the Northern Innovation and Startup Center and connected with community mentors along the way.

“We've helped her kind of incubate this business idea, get connected to a community mentor,” Smith said. “To see her go from the idea stage to taking the stage to taking the check is just a whole different level.”

Tim Hanigan, chief executive officer of the Aberdeen Development Corporation, called the event his favorite of the year.

“Tonight, four great contestants pitched, and Madi Jones with CR8 Soda won,” Hanigan said. “It's probably my favorite event of the year.”

The Aberdeen Development Corporation provides the competition’s prize money and this year also awarded an additional $1,000 to the runner-up to help support continued business development.

“In addition to that, we're going to continue to meet with them,” Hanigan said. “We're going to continue to meet with the other people that put in the application and try to support their businesses.”

Hanigan said the competition’s impact extends well beyond the prize money by helping entrepreneurs transform ideas into actionable business plans and connecting them with resources such as the Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center.

“What it does is it brings that person that might have the idea in the back of their mind and they're like, ‘I don't know if I want to do anything with this or not,’ and it gets them to put it on paper,” Hanigan said. “As they start to work through that stuff, they can realize, ‘Hey, this is a legitimate business,’ and hopefully help spur on and provide resources all the way.”