Rural First wins chamber pitch competition

Rural First, a startup founded by entrepreneur Robb Woolsey, on Thursday won the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Go Big Pitch Competition.

Woolsey, who also founded GPS service Sprocket LLC, said the startup is designed to help first responders quickly reach homes in rural areas. Services such as Google Maps, for example, may send ambulances on inopportune routes, cutting down on precious life-saving minutes. Woolsey said the business currently produces annual revenue of $60,000, but it expects to double that in the coming months.

In the “Shark Tank”-style competition, Woolsey spoke for seven minutes before judges Charlie Rosenbury, owner of business consultancy SELF Interactive, Phyllis Ferguson, city councilwoman and chief operating officer of Mexican Villa, and Steve Crowder, CEO of Ceramex North America. He also answered several of their questions following his pitch.

Rural First wins $5,000 and three months at co-working space Originate in The eFactory.

The judges also heard presentations from Covy, Emergenc.Me and Logic Forte. The event was held at the Springfield Expo Center during the chamber’s B2B Expo.