$10K Contest: meet the winners, see what we discovered

When we launched the Namecheap Business Starter Kit $10,000 Contest back in January, it was about more than giving money to great startups. We wanted to understand what’s actually happening on the ground, the real businesses that real people are building.

Our findings were really interesting, and we think you’ll find inspiration from them too.

What we saw: snapshot of 2026 new businesses

We got 2,000 applications from across the US. These are the key findings:

Most people aren’t building the next game changer, they’re building something meaningful.

The biggest motivation we saw wasn’t financial opportunity, it was personal. Around 28% of applicants started their business because of a family legacy, a lived experience, or a desire to serve their community.

One in eight wanted to build something they could pass on. Another 8% got their idea because of a problem they experienced firsthand, and decided to fix it for others.

Only 7% cited AI or a tech opportunity as their main inspiration. The vast majority started a new business for a deeper purpose, not just to make money.

#1 barrier isn’t money, it’s being seen

When we asked what applicants would do with $10,000, the most common answer (34%) was marketing and advertising. Not hiring, not equipment, not savings, but getting found.

This matches what we heard about pain points too: “I have something great but nobody knows about it yet”. Visibility was the primary struggle people cited across applications.

Whereas only 2.5% said lack of capital was their main challenge. So the barrier for most new businesses isn’t funding, it’s gaining awareness.

Businesses are diverse and interesting

Tech and SaaS startups led at 16%, but the remaining applications spanned over thirty sectors: health and wellness, construction and trades, fashion, beauty, creative services, automotive, education, and more. Nearly half of all applicants were in a niche other than tech.

To give you some examples, a few business ideas that stood out for their originality were:

• Someone bought a floral cooler to serve a town that didn’t have a florist. 
• Father-son road trip to every MLB stadium, as a media project. 
• Grandfather clock built from 1910, reclaimed barn wood. 
• Launch of a first-edition tabletop RPG (role-playing game, like the legendary Dungeons & Dragons).

They’re not messing around

Another fascinating finding is that 83% of applicants had chosen business formation as an LLC. These aren’t people testing a hobby. They’ve made a legal commitment, care about protecting their personal assets from unexpected events, and are in it for the long haul. They want to be taken seriously.

Stage of the journey

Most applicants are just getting started. 55% described themselves as in the early build stage, such as a website in progress, a handful of first customers, and no employees yet.

Only 18% confirmed they were actively growing, and just 6% were established.

The Common thread

Our panel of judges, drawn from Namecheap’s Business Development, Product, and Marketing teams, wasn’t evaluating polish or ambition. They were mainly looking to reward people putting in the hard work. 

Proof of execution counted for 50% of the score. That meant real effort, with something to show for it, whether that was a website, active social presence, or product/service with evidence behind it.

Vision and feasibility mattered a lot too (20%). So did authentic storytelling (15%), and a practical plan for how the prize money would actually be used (15%).

The winners were very specific. For example, instead of “I want to grow my business”, they’d say something like: “I would use the prize to buy [exact thing] to solve [exact problem] for [exact customer].” This shows they’d really thought it through, which is exactly how you successfully bring an idea into reality.

They also demonstrated their work well, like screenshots, links, and social posts. They were able to show a tangible vision, not just descriptions of what they planned to build.

And a special factor was how they authentically told their own story. The judges noticed the difference between applications written by a real person, and those that had been smoothed out into something generic.

These applicants explained the genuine reason they started, the actual struggle, the careful plan. That’s what made them truly shine. 

Drum roll…

Here are the winners. We very much appreciated the effort you’ve put in:

First Prize — $10,000

Kai Klingmann

Business Name: Habituel
Sector: Wellness Beverages

Habituel makes small-batch mushroom beverages i.e. coffee alternatives blended with chaga, lion’s mane, reishi, and turkey tail. Everything is made entirely in-house at their own warehouse.

He developed the formula after being diagnosed with a heart condition that ruled out caffeine and ADHD stimulants. This led him to spend two years developing an alternative, guided by peer-reviewed science. He and his fiancé ran everything themselves – farmers’ markets, production, fulfillment, social media – until recently growing to three part-time employees. 

What set Kai apart was the combination of strong vision and really putting in the effort: 

• Good video, and presentation.
• Authentic small business storytelling.
• Clear website explaining his offering, and featuring real people.
• Consistent social presence to build awareness and community.
• Interesting idea, and keen desire to change the status quo for the better.

His prize money will be spent on two production machines to scale their US manufacturing and launch a second product: a functional mushroom cocoa beverage, designed to improve sleep.

Insights from Kai: 

“Talking to customers directly and understanding their pain points face-to-face really helped me get quick feedback on ideas, observe patterns to make data-driven improvements on packaging, and create the best possible experience for my customers. If I were starting over from scratch, I would try to get my product in front of ‘real’ people as soon as possible… complete strangers who will tell you what they honestly think.”

“Don’t be discouraged or worried if someone else has already had your idea, just go for it. Lots of people have ideas, but very few actually turn those ideas into something tangible. You can always improve upon something, do it better, or present it in a different way. Starting is the most important part. Ideas are a dollar a dozen, relentless execution is priceless!”

Second Prize — $5,000

*Jolajesu Sunmola

Business Name: Jolas Kitchen
Sector: Food & Beverages

Jolas Kitchen serves authentic Nigerian cuisine through a food truck in Edmond, Oklahoma. They also ship meals across the US and Canada. Dishes include jollof rice and egusi soup, made with traditional methods and quality ingredients.

The judges were drawn to Jolajesu’s plan for the prize, which was refreshingly concrete: purchase a samosa-making machine to produce authentic Nigerian samosas at scale, and get them onto the shelves of major retailers like Walmart and Target.

They also appreciated the genuine storytelling: the business grew from cooking for friends at university, into a mission to preserve culinary culture and give people a taste of home, wherever they are in the world.

Insight from Jolajesu:

“What keeps me motivated is the joy when someone tastes food that reminds them of family, and knowing each meal honors my culture. This isn’t just about food, it’s about serving my community and preserving traditions.”

Third Prize (two winners) — $1,000 

*Atilola Moronfolu

Business Name: The Good Hair Tribe
Sector: Hair Care & Education 

Founded after seeing how many women experienced preventable hair loss from products never designed for their hair type. The Good Hair Tribe combines science-backed education with a product line (Ethniik) built specifically for textured hair.

What stood out was the intelligence of their approach, adding education as a revenue stream and impact booster. Atilola also gave us a detailed, well thought out plan for the prize, covering marketing, hiring, production, and e-commerce.

Insight from Atilola:

“Know your “why”. Your “why” has to be strong and anchored in depth. If not, when hard times come, as they surely would, you will give up easily.”

*Eric Brown

Business Name: The Creative Yard Arizona
Sector: Creative Studios & SaaS

Eric built a self-service, staff-free photography and video studio using an Airbnb-style check-in model. And when he couldn’t find a SaaS product to power it, he built one himself (now called Kowbi).

He provided an unusually clear business model, and a moving personal story as a disabled veteran with PTSD who refused to be limited. His prize plan was also very specific, right down to the studio wall and the exact customer segment for his software.

Insight from Eric:

(what moved his business forward the most) “Planning. Writing things down and mapping things out helped me see potential time-wasters before I ever got to them. It kept me moving forward with purpose.”

Runners-Up — $100 

Congratulations also to our five runners-up, each of whom receives $100 in Namecheap account credit. Their applications showed real commitment, and like all the winners, we’re excited about your future business growth:

1. Laura Kebart – Language Arts Teachers (Oregon)
2. Adam Halpern – WaveOn Health (New Mexico) 
3. Stephanie Kinney – Chronic Asana (Minnesota) 
4. Sebastien Vautier – CineMaster Academy (Nevada) 
5. Ingrid Moats – The Math Gift (Florida)

What comes next (for everyone)

Whether you placed or not in this competition, the thing that got you to apply (such as a registered business, strong vision, or some early proof) is that you’ve taken the first steps to bring your idea into the world.

That’s often the hardest part. Now the key is to build on that momentum with consistent effort.

And the good news is the most common need we saw across all 2,000 applications – getting in front of customers, showing up in search, and building a presence that makes people choose your business – is actually one of the most solvable.

The Relate Marketing Suite is designed for small business owners who don’t have a lot of time to learn marketing, or a big budget to pay for experts.

And if you’re still in the very early stages of your startup, check out the Business Starter Kit. It gives you a free LLC, plus a year of free Relate tools. Get most of the heavy lifting done for you when it comes to social media and SEO (getting found online in search results). You’ll also get a free .com domain, professional email address, and hosting for your website. All the essentials you need for lift off. 

Explore Business Starter Kit

To ALL those out there working hard on making your idea a reality, we wish you every success!