Kirkland awards $5,000 prizes to startup and established winners at 2025 Pitch competition

KIRKLAND, Wash. — The City of Kirkland onstage at the Kirkland Performance Center on Oct. 11 hosted its 2025 Kirkland Pitch competition, where organizers awarded $5,000 to winners in two categories — startups and established businesses — and an additional $5,000 People’s Choice prize decided by a live audience poll.

Mayor Kelly Curtis, who opened the event, said the competition is part of the city’s efforts to recruit and support new businesses. “This is one of the many tactics that we take to recruit new businesses, both large and small in Kirkland,” Curtis said.

The event capped a program of workshops and mentoring: Christian Lash, the city’s scheduled projects coordinator, told the audience the city ran “a series of five workshops” over the prior six weeks to prepare participants. Jim Lopez, deputy city manager and the evening’s emcee, explained that judges were seated among the audience and that attendees could cast a People’s Choice vote via a QR code during the program.

Startup category winner: Treehouse Play Cafe Asmita Nusram, founder of Treehouse Play Cafe, took the $5,000 prize in the startup category. Nusram pitched an indoor play-and-café concept aimed at families with young children, citing local demand and a projected fall 2025 opening timeline.

Established business winner: Elotador Jason Leon, owner of Elotador, won the $5,000 prize in the established-business category. Leon described Elotador as a mobile kitchen offering healthier street-food options and said prize money would cover vendor booth fees and food costs for local events.

People’s Choice: Ducky Social The People’s Choice award was announced for Nigel Schorn of Ducky Social, a product-and-app concept built around a collectible “duck” block box and a social-tracking app. Organizers said the People’s Choice winner was determined by a live audience poll conducted during the program.

Format, funding and city role Organizers described the program as a five-week workshop series that taught pitching, marketing and operations; instructors and mentors included city staff and private-sector volunteers. Mayor Curtis and other presenters thanked the city council and the economic development office for funding and organizing the competition. The event distributed three $5,000 awards: one for the startup winner, one for the established-business winner and one People’s Choice prize awarded by audience vote.

Several founders described how they would use the prize money: common uses included startup costs, payroll, lease and vendor fees, marketing, and initial inventory. Christian Lash and Jim Lopez emphasized the role of mentorship and community partnerships — local businesses, farmers markets and retailers — in helping entrepreneurs scale.

Organizers encouraged attendees to participate in future cohorts; the mayor noted the program runs annually and is intended as part of a broader economic-development strategy. City staff and volunteer mentors were recognized onstage for organizing and teaching the workshops.

The event concluded with judges tallying scores, check presentations onstage, and closing remarks thanking participants, mentors and the audience.