August 20, 2025

Ajo, AZ

Congrats to our Ajo, AZ Winners!

  • Group of nine people standing indoors, holding a large check, at an event for a pitch competition. They are smiling and dressed casually, with a presentation screen and posters in the background.

    Annelise Keuper

    Curley Coffee Roasters

    First Place Winner

    Curley Coffee roasts coffee from around the world to perfection. We feature our coffee in our local cafe, and sell at local businesses and on-line.

    We connect our small border town to the world coffee community. We educate as well as teach about all aspects of coffee.




  • Group of nine people standing indoors, holding a large check for $600, at the Moonshot Rural Arizona Pitch Competition 2025. The group includes diverse men and women, some wearing name tags, with a projector screen and a poster in the background.

    Adrian Vega

    Reimagine Ajo

    Second Place

    We appear as just another 2nd hand store, but we like to say we're a 3rd hand store and so much more!

    Our philosophy and goal is to encourage the community to keep there stuff from ending up in the Landfill! We do this by helping them envision and create something new from their seemingly older stuff! Besides the stores cool and user friendly environment, we provide a relaxed knowledgeable staff, with great ideas and passion towards the wants and needs of Artisans, Crafters, ,Hobbyist and anyone redoing themselves or their homes! By developing new products from unwanted materials, holding workshop classes, online sales, recycling precious metals and developing the unfulfilled niches in our community!

  • Group of eight people standing indoors, holding a large check awarded for third place at the Moonshot Rural Arizona Pitch Competition 2022. The check is made out to Bunny Sinleton for $250. All are smiling, some wearing name tags, with a screen and a banner in the background.

    Bunny Singleton

    The Bunny Burrow

    Third Place & Crowd Favorite

    I have sold healthier food options in a pop up setting for several years in Ajo. I am looking to expand/move my food business to a shed drive through. I believe Ajo is lacking in healthier grab and go food options. We also do not have a drive through at all in town. I would like to combine the convenience of a drive through with whole food based cuisine. My menu will include from scratch soups, sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. Living in a literal food desert, I want to be a part of the solution in my community.

  • Group of nine diverse people standing indoors at a presentation event, with a projection screen behind them displaying logos and text for the Moonshot Rural Arizona Pitch Competition 2023.

    Nathaniel Hardy

    FA Multi Media Productions is dedicated to making Ajo, AZ, a better place and bringing it into the future by utilizing Ajo as what it is at its core, a Hub for artists and trade. We have several projects in the works, including an online resale business, A.G.E.N.D.A CORP that sources local products from businesses, artists, and people here in Ajo and is already generating $100,000 in annual sales. These funds are then channeled into our second project, which supports the local community and artists in developing comic books, manga, trailers, and tabletop RPG board games. These projects will then be distributed via the existing infrastructure already in place from the resale business. We are actively scaling with plans to establish a warehouse and production studio. Please check out our newest trailer here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PPEzEMm5_h_t-U8x2MA79rfCEDgXoKJW/view?usp=drive_link

Logos of sponsors for the 2025 Rural AZ Pitch Competition, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona, APS, Arizona Commerce Authority, Growth Partners Arizona, Arizona Association for Economic Development, SRP, Wells Fargo, CIC, U.S.-Mexico Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Small Business Development Center, AWD Law, Resolution Copper, Arizona IDA, and Arizona Stitch Lab.

Our local Ajo sponsors make this event possible by hosting a space for the event, helping to get the word out locally, and providing local prize money for winners. We couldn’t do it without them!

Logo of Pima County Economic Development featuring a stylized blue dome building and text.
Logo with three vertical stripes: green cactus on yellow, black spiral on red, yellow arch on blue, and the word 'ISDA' below in white on black background.
Logo for Freeport-McMoRan with stylized 'F.M' in blue and black text.
Illustration of a cactus and a desert scene with the text 'AJO' in large letters.

Schedule - August 20, 2025
10am - Welcome and Pitch Workshop

10:30am - 1:30pm - Pitch Practice
(Lunch info TBD)

1:30pm - Final Pitch Competition Starts - Open to the Public

2:30pm - Judge Deliberations


3:00pm - Special Thanks to Local Sponsors + Announcement of Winners


3:30pm Wrap Up

Location

15 Plaza
Suite 201 (2nd floor)
Ajo, AZ

 PRIZE MONEY

Prizes are $1,000 for 1st, $500 for 2nd and $500 for crowd favorite. 
The first-place winner of the Ajo event will win a trip to the State Finals in Prescott, AZ and a hotel stay in beautiful downtown Prescott as well as the chance to win the $10,000 grand prize, $5,000 Crowd Favorite and other various prizes at the state finals. Learn more about the finals event here.

Hey Ajo risk takers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs!

Do you have a “moonshot” business idea or an existing business you’d like to expand? Or maybe you have a product or business idea scribbled down on a napkin  or notebook, but that's as far as you've gotten?!

​If you answered YES to either question above, join us for Moonshot's 6th Annual Rural Arizona Pitch Competition for entrepreneurs and business owners (aka, a showcase like you see on ABC's Shark Tank)!

This year, we'll be taking the tour to 20 different cities/counties throughout rural Arizona. Participants will compete for the chance to win local tour stop prize money and more! But that’s not all. In October 2025, each tour stop winner will travel to beautiful Prescott, Arizona to compete for the state title and $10,000 in cash, $5,000 in cash for "Crowd Favorite”, and several NEW cash prizes! Winners from each tour stop will receive two complimentary tickets to the finals event and a one-night stay at the beautiful Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Prescott, Arizona.  
​
Participation is FREE OF CHARGE, thanks to our title sponsors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Arizona Commerce Authority, and APS, our statewide and regional sponsors, and our local sponsors listed below.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Participation in the pitch competition is free of charge. You do not need to have experience as an entrepreneur to compete. You can simply have an idea for a product or service.

    Participants will be taught how to present a business pitch in 5 minutes.

    Each tour stop competition schedule will vary, depending on how many applicants apply. We will expect you attend the full day event, should you apply.

    A sample schedule and sample presentations from past tour stops events will be shared below. We’ll make sure you have as much reference material as possible.

    You do not need to use a slide show (like Powerpoint or Canva) to present your ideas; however, if you’d like to do so, that’s wonderful. Past winners have won local tour stop events without the assistance of slide shows.

    Learn more about what to expect and take a look at past pitch presentations here.

  • Check out individual tour stop pages listed in the menu above or go to our calendar page.

  • Check out our Participant Resources page.

  • The schedule for each tour stop will vary depending on the number of applicants who apply to compete. We’ve broken the sample agendas out below. These are subject to change. This year, we are capping the number of participants in larger tour stops to 20 participants. Applications will be accepted first come, first serve.

    Tour Site A - less than 10 applicants (smaller events/tour stops)

    Agenda A:

    8:30 AM - Welcome + Pitch Worksheet Workshop- Fill out pitch worksheet

    9:30 AM: 1st Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on financials and business model

    10:30 or 11:00 AM: 2nd Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on legal and branding/marketing

    12:00 or 12:30 PM: Working lunch, pitch deck cleanup

    1:30 or 2:00 PM: Start Pitch Competition

    3:00 or 3:30: Announce Winners

    Tour Site B - 10-12 applicants, 2 rooms

    Agenda B:

    8:30 AM - Welcome + Pitch Worksheet Workshop- Fill out pitch worksheet

    Break applicants into 2 groups

    9:30 AM: GROUP 1- 1st Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on financials and business model

    GROUP 2- 1st Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on legal and branding/marketing

    10:30 or 11:00 AM - GROUP 1- Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on legal and branding/marketing

    GROUP 2- 2nd Pitch Practice Workshop, emphasis on financials and business model

    12:00 or 12:30 PM: Working lunch, pitch deck cleanup

    1:30 or 2:00 PM: Start Pitch Competition

    3:00 or 3:30: Announce Winners

    Tour Site C- 12-20 applicants, 3 rooms

    Agenda C:

    8:30 AM - Welcome + Pitch Worksheet Workshop- Fill out pitch worksheet

    Break applicants into 3 groups

    9:30 AM: GROUP 1- 1st Pitch Practice Workshop

    GROUP 2- 1st Pitch Practice Workshop

    GROUP 3- 1st Pitch Practice Workshop

    10:30 or 11:00 AM - GROUP 1- 2nd Pitch Practice Workshop

    GROUP 2- 2nd Pitch Practice Workshop

    GROUP 3- 2nd Pitch Practice Workshop

    Participants will only attend 2 of 3 practice rounds/ Applicants will be cut down to 8-10 for the finals

    12:00 or 12:30 PM - Working lunch, pitch deck cleanup

    1:30 or 2:00 PM - Start Pitch Competition

    3:00 or 3:30 - Announce Winners

  • See examples of past pitch presentations here.

  • Here’s an example of the pitch worksheet that all participants receive at the beginning of the day. It walks you through how to pitch your idea/business and what elements you need to include.