Jeremy Smith receiving his $5,000 cheque at the North Battleford Business Pitch Competition. (Image Credit: Jeremy Smith/ Facebook)

By Alyssa Rudolph

PITCH COMPETITION

Local entrepreneur secures $5,000 grant for first-place business pitch

Mar 24, 2026 | 12:50 PM

When Jeremy Smith walked into the North Battleford Business Pitch Competition, winning wasn’t on his mind. 

By the end of the event, he walked out with first place, and a $5,000 grant to invest in his growing business. 

“I honestly felt underprepared. I mostly went for the networking – I wanted to see who else was out there, what they were building, and how they were doing it,” he said. 

Smith is the founder of DevGen, a digital solutions company that focuses on helping clients modernize their online presence. He streamlines websites and social media platforms into a cohesive system, that makes it easier for customers to engage online. 

“We’ve been around for about a year and a half,” he said. “It’s been growing steadily as I find time to build it.” 

March 19, 2026

'I'm not leaving my son': Mother recalls desperate moments as teen is pulled from burning crash near Paynton

55m ago

Could see upwards of 15 cm

Another snowfall event heading our way

1h ago

PITCH COMPETITION

Local entrepreneur secures $5,000 grant for first-place business pitch

1h ago

The grant money will allow Smith to expand DevGen’s capabilities and introduce new features for existing clients, accelerating a business that started as a side project into something much bigger. 

“I’m going to talk to some of the clients that I work with now and see, what would benefit them the most out of a couple of ideas. Maybe more lead generation or better analytics or if we need to invest in more calendar bookings for clients.” 

“But I think we’re going to use it to benefit our existing clients in a very general way that we can also apply to new clients coming in too,” he said. 

Moving forward, Smith would like to see the pitch competition continue to help put North Battleford on the map, reaching more clients for up-and-coming businesses.  

“Both of the other finalists, the second and third place, had some great ideas on farm sustainability and long-term investment in technology. And then you’ve got these two high school students who got up there, and they did their best. I have to give them so much credit for drawing and putting their pictures out there.” 

He believes that sharing these ideas publicly will help spark new business opportunities within the community.  

“I hope more people join the community, and more people come to the next challenge and bring whatever they can out there,” Smith said. “There are people that are smart. They’re willing to put it all out there for this community. They’re willing to try to do whatever they can to help it grow.” 

—

Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com