Young and Innovative

SEMA News—August 2020

REQUIRED READING

Since 2013, the SEMA Launch Pad program has given young entrepreneurs, students and business owners age 18–39 an opportunity to launch their products into the $44.6 billion automotive aftermarket industry. The top 15 participants in this year’s program have moved on to the online voting stage of the competition (www.sema.org/launchpad).

In addition to pitching their products at the annual SEMA Show before a panel of iconic judges, the top-five vote-getters often benefit from media interest and attention. Below are some of the publications that have covered the competition, which awards the winner a prize package that includes $10,000 and exhibit space at the annual SEMA Show.

*Telegraph Herald* Reporter Erica Lyons wrote a piece on Wesley Poole, president of Forged Authority. Thanks to his company’s modular frame-rail, which can accommodate a number of attachments in seconds with a single pin, Poole was a top-10 finalist in the 2019 Launch Pad competition.
*National Oil and Lube News* Toby Chess has penned installments of his “Kool Tools” article for several years now, and it’s a report that members of the collision industry eagerly await each year. At the 2019 SEMA Show, Chess teamed with Kye Yeung and Amber Alley to walk the entire floor and find tools that could save shops time and money.
Traction Hot Rod editor Johnny Hunkins’ new-products report from last year’s SEMA Show was picked up by MSN, giving maximum exposure to the 30-plus parts highlighted in the article. Hunkins went as far as predicting the types of products he’d expect to see at the 2020 Show.
Heard on Social Media “BuiltRight Industries, the 2019 SEMA Launch Pad winner, is making 3-D-printed face shields to help with the coronavirus effort.”—Auto Care Week/The Greensheet, via Twitter “At the @SEMASHOW Launch Pad product competition today in Las Vegas, Reid Lunde earned $10,000 for his weatherproof Kaizen Relay product.”—Fender Bender, via Twitter “SEMA has recognized Dyme PSI as a semifinalist in the 2020 SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN) Launch Pad competition alongside 14 of the most innovative companies in the United States.”—Motorsporters, via Facebook “The Launch Pad is a competition designed to help and support young entrepreneurs in the automotive aftermarket. All 15 semifinalists will receive complimentary SEMA memberships.”—12 Volt News, via Twitter