Post by Center on Rural Innovation

And the winner is… Authsnap Inc.! Congratulations to Gretchen Heinen, RN, PHN, BSN and the entire Authsnap team, from Marquette, Michigan, the winners of this year’s $10,000 Small Towns, Big Ideas Pitch Competition! Their AI-powered platform automates insurance denial appeals, cutting hospital admin time from hours to minutes and helping healthcare teams focus on what matters most: patient care. Let’s also celebrate all of this year’s incredible finalists — Capnesity, Inc. (St. Johnsbury, VT), Pathless Productions Ludare (Portsmouth, OH), RespexTech Inc. (Shenandoah Valley, VA), and WholeNote (Paducah, KY) — each bringing bold ideas and rural innovation to the national stage, proving that rural entrepreneurship is alive, thriving, and worth investing in. A huge thank-you to our judges, keynote speaker Bill Veghte, sponsors, and attendees who joined us in person and online, your enthusiasm and belief in rural entrepreneurship make this event possible. And a special thank-you to our partner, the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth, for hosting and collaborating with us to bring together founders, investors, and innovators for this incredible evening of connection and inspiration. Together, we’re proving that big ideas can start anywhere — and that innovation truly knows no zip code. Learn more about the event and this year’s finalists: https://lnkd.in/ecPrrGhz #SmallTownsBigIdeas #RuralInnovation #Entrepreneurship #Investment #TechStartups #PitchCompetition #CORI #MagnusonCenter #HanoverNH #RuralEntrepreneurs #InvestInRural #TheFutureIsRural #MarquetteMichigan