Groovy Glaze wins the Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition
The Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition’s $20,000 grand prize was awarded to Mayva Sturzenbecker, business owner of Groovy Glaze, and the $5,000 Fan Favorite Vote.
Groovy Glaze is a pottery painting studio where visitors can choose and paint premade ceramic pieces, which are then fired in a kiln and ready for pickup a week later. Sturzenbecker plans to use the $25,000 to expand Groovy Glaze's offerings by purchasing new equipment and hiring a qualified assistant.
“Last year, I applied, and I didn’t make it as a finalist. However, applying pushed me to start my business, and this year, I came back ready to apply again,” stated Sturzenbecker about her experience with the competition. “I want to say that if you ever get turned down in life, you just try again.”
The business competition received 51 applications and Thursday night’s Live Pitch Event presented five finalists. Finalists presented their business pitches and took part in a Q&A session with the judges. Among the finalists were Dustin Coles with North Country Gear Works, a manufacturer that delivers high-quality outdoor equipment specifically for eastern and western hunters; Brittany Holsinger with Kinzua Canine, offers year round dog training sessions beyond basic obedience and addressing real life challenges; Abby Leposa with Speech Path Solutions, an outpatient speech-language pathology clinic serving pediatric and young adult patients; and Mark Young with Young Web Design, an affordable web design, marketing, and development agency focused on supporting small to medium businesses in Bradford and the surrounding areas.
The Bradford Area Alliance invited past finalists from previous business competitions to help celebrate the fifth anniversary of the event. Among the past winners were Helen Schuster of HMS Scientific Solutions, Jim Minard of Team Minard Productions, and Petra Stana and Garrett Raney of Allegheny Store Fixtures.
“This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition, a milestone that speaks to the enduring spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in our community. Over the past five years, we have watched incredible ideas take flight, businesses grow, and dreams turn into reality,” remarked Christian Smith, Economic Development Specialist with the Bradford Area Alliance.
The Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition was named in honor of and in recognition of the illustrious career and tremendous impact Harvey Golubock had in the Bradford region. A “Harvey L. Golubock Bradford Business Competition” fund has been set up through the McKean County Community Foundation to seed future competitions for anyone who would like to further honor Harvey L. Golubock’s memory.
The Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition would like to thank the community, entrepreneurs, and volunteers for five flaming years of business growth!
The event is possible due to the support of Blaisdell Foundation, Halloran Philanthropies, Northwest Bank, Northwest Industrial Resource Center, McKean County Community Foundation, Southern Airways Express, and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition’s promotions were partially funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
