A Year of Firsts for BE in Abilene

The Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) announces three winners for this year’s BE in Abilene Competition, fully utilizing the $250,000, allocated for the competition for the first time in the competition’s three-year history.

After a seven-month long process, three companies came out victorious: 2 Prof Ice Cream, Belt Buckle Distillery, and Moose Mountain Goods. 2 Prof Ice Cream and Belt Buckle Distillery were each awarded $100,000, and Moose Mountain Goods was awarded $50,000. Each of the companies are taking home award dollars to help scale their companies’ production and the title of the 2020 BE in Abilene Competition winners. In addition to being young entrepreneurial companies, these three companies share the unique quality of being Abilene’s only wholesale producers of their specific product: ice cream, alcoholic spirits, and coffee.

2 Prof Ice Cream is a local producer of premium ice cream and is owned and operated by a father-son team. The company provides gourmet ice cream to restaurants and shops to serve as a unique eat-in dining experience. 2 Profs is expanding its product availability to grocery stores throughout the region. They have been awarded $100,000, which will assist the company in purchasing critical equipment that will enable the company to potentially quadruple their production, allow them to maintain production for current needs, and enable them to expand to a new market sector. "To put it simply, we learned so much we didn't know through the BE in Abilene Competition. We knew our craft of making premium ice cream well, but BE in Abilene helped us understand how to analyze our sales cycle, to think in terms of wholesale marketing plans, and to sell our products to a wider audience," said Carley Dodd and Matt Dodd, co-owners of 2 Profs Ice Cream.

Belt Buckle Distillery is a company that manufactures, produces, and blends fine spirits for distribution and sales to West Texas wholesalers. Holding the unique title of being West Texas’ first distillery, they provide a unique selection of spirits, which are representative of their geographic location in the state. They have been awarded $100,000, which will enable the company to purchase necessary equipment to meet market demands and conduct building improvements on their new facility. “We are proud to be one of this year’s winners. Not only does this help provide needed capital, but it validates our business concept. Competing in last year’s competition revealed the weak points in our business, making us more competitive for this year’s competition,” said Keith Sanders, executive officer of Belt Buckle Distillery.

Moose Mountain Goods is Abilene’s only coffee roaster that roasts and distributes its products across the United States directly to consumers. The family-owned-and-operated company offers a rotating selection of coffee from different origins throughout the world. They have been awarded $50,000, which will allow Moose Mountain Goods to triple their production and enable them to secure contracts with regional grocery chains to carry their product. “BE in Abilene provided us an opportunity to look critically at our business plan, which enabled us to scale it more rapidly. To put it another way, we had the right nuts and bolts, but the competition allowed us to organize and fully utilize them,” said Ben Cotton, founder and owner of Moose Mountain Goods.

All three winners are required to complete a compliance and performance agreement with the Development Corporation of Abilene to ensure each business meets established post-award guidelines. Each winner will also receive ongoing support that includes regular meetings with the Small Business Development Center to ensure each business has the necessary tools and information to succeed.

The BE in Abilene Competition’s goal is to Build Entrepreneurs in Abilene. This annual competition is for young, entrepreneurial companies that have the potential to positively impact the Abilene community. The competition was developed and is funded by the Development Corporation of Abilene and implemented by multiple organizations, including Abilene Industrial Foundation, ACU’s Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Small Business Development Center.