ICONIER takes top prize in 2026 Business Plan Competition Finale

On Thursday, Oct. 16, eight businesses gave their final pitch before a panel of judges at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth as part of the Fort Worth Business Plan Competition. Three of those businesses walked away with cash prizes.

The Fort Worth Business Plan Competition is an annual celebration of the city’s entrepreneurs and small business ecosystem that’s sponsored by Frost Bank.

This year, the grand prize of $10,000 in cash was awarded to Rishabh Sharma, founder of Iconier Digital Marketing Agency, a full-service digital marketing agency that helps small and mid-sized businesses turn online visibility into real customers.

Second prize — a check for $6,000 — went to Julie Ervin, owner of Panther City Eye Care, a locally owned optometry practice in the Riverside neighborhood that provides accessible, high-quality and patient-centered care to promote lifelong eye health. Panther City Eye Care also won the Perfect Pitch Prize, which is voted on by the finale audience — earning Julie a $500 credit for merchandise at Printed Threads.

Third prize — and a check for $4,000 — went to Open-Minded Counseling, owned by Kaity Stone. Open-Minded Counseling provides affirmative and inclusive mental health and wellness services to support a person’s mind, body and spirit.

The emcee for the evening was Shawna Murphy of StyleSmart VA, one of the winners of the 2024 competition.

This finale marked 15 years of the Fort Worth Business Plan Competition, which Mayor Mattie Parker noted in her remarks.

“For 15 years we’ve had this competition, and it’s not uncommon for you to run across some of our competition winners who are still doing business in Fort Worth,” she said.“I’m always so impressed by the entrepreneurship and incredibly humbled to learn the stories of the people who are taking a chance on themselves to build a business and, importantly, to choose Fort Worth.”

“Your entrepreneurial spirit is what makes this the absolute best city in America,” Hadley Woerner, Frost Bank’s president of the Fort Worth region, told the competitors.

In addition to sponsoring the cash prizes, Frost Bank also offered $200 gift cards and a five-year, $5,000 loan to all 20 participating competitors who completed their written business plan as part of the 2026 cohort.

A variety of supporting partners also helped provide coaching and mentorship to the participating businesses, including the Accelerate Fort Worth Foundation, Ensemble Coworking, Foundations EDC, SCORE Fort Worth, TechFW and TEI Consulting, along with Cynthia Harnest and Sam Emmerson.

The other five businesses that pitched during the Finale were:

Articulate Your Value is a private-sector workforce development and talent advancement firm that supports students, job seekers and professionals through customized training and coaching.

DMG Notaries is a document-signing service that helps streamline complex real estate closings across the country.

MLK Prearrangements offers personalized funeral pre-planning through 40-plus funeral homes in the Fort Worth area.

Sultrosium Wellness offers personalized wellness plans rooted in comprehensive hormonal testing, food sensitivity testing and precision-crafted supplement protocol.

The West Wellness and Massage is Fort Worth’s only integrated wellness center that combines medically supervised care with luxury spa services.

If you missed this year’s Finale, you can watch it on the City of Fort Worth webpage.

Photo: From left to right: Hadley Woerner, regional president for Frost Bank; Mayor Mattie Parker; Rishabh Sharma of ICONIER; Julie Ervin of Panther City Eye Care; and Kaity Stone of Open-Minded Counseling.

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