Thursday, October 1, 2026
WENATCHEE — Seattle-based AI company Optimly, led by CEO Apurva Luty, swept the major awards at the 2026 Flywheel Investment Conference on Thursday night, taking home the conference’s top investment prize, the Fan Favorite Award and a regional relocation package during the closing ceremony at Pybus Public Market.
The company received the Flywheel Angel Network’s $150,000 investment award after a full day of finalist presentations before investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders gathered in Wenatchee for the statewide startup conference.
Flywheel Angel Network fund manager Brian Eastman said the final decision followed months of review and deliberation among investors.
“This started back in December when companies started applying,” Eastman said during the awards ceremony. “We went through a long process talking to a lot of companies and looking through their books and seeing the passion of these innovators as they’re trying to build something.”
Eastman said judges faced a difficult decision because of the strength of the finalist field.
“We had a difficult time this afternoon,” he said. “It was a lot of good companies we saw.”
By the time Optimly was announced as the recipient of the conference’s investment award, the company had already collected the Fan Favorite Award and the relocation package offered through regional economic development partners, prompting cheers and jokes from the stage about the company completing a “hat trick,” and netting Luty a total of $205,000 in prize money.
NCW Tech Alliance Board President Walter Thorn opened the evening by describing Flywheel as more than a startup competition, framing it instead as part of a broader effort to grow innovation and entrepreneurship across North Central Washington.
“It’s more than just a pitch competition,” Thorn said. “It’s about building the kind of region where ideas can grow, where entrepreneurs can find support, where students can see what’s possible, and where innovation is not something that only happens somewhere else.”
The Fan Favorite Award was presented by Clark Nuber representative Matt Medlin, who spoke about the importance of strong financial and legal guidance for startup founders building early-stage companies.
“We work with founders, we know where you are,” Medlin said. “We know kind of the pain and agony.”
The relocation package award was announced shortly afterward, with NCW Tech Alliance CEO Sue Kane noting that the conference aims not only to support entrepreneurs financially, but also to encourage companies to consider growing within the region.
“I’ve had an opportunity to now interact with all six of our top finalists,” Kane said. “Any one of you would be most welcome in our community and in our region.”
Thorn said the conference’s broader strength comes from the community that forms around the companies and founders participating in the event.
“We’ve had hundreds of people show up to connect, to encourage and to invest,” Thorn said. “That’s what makes Flywheel so powerful.”
Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media
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