From Candlemaking to a Kokhanok Campground, Six Win Marketplace Competitions

Two winners were selected for each region. The flagship North Slope Marketplace was open to ASRC shareholders. The winners are:

• Aaron Tooyak, owner of Locked In Mobile Detailing. The Anchorage-based automotive service offers professional interior and exterior cleaning at customers’ homes or workplaces. The business specializes in convenient, year-round detailing tailored to Alaska’s harsh driving conditions.
• Vasna Nou, owner of Burning Love Candles in Anchorage. Burning Love Candles offers candle-making classes and workshops focused on youth and young adults navigating sobriety. The business creates a safe, creative space that supports healing, self-expression, and community connection through hands-on candle-making.

The Bristol Bay Marketplace was open to BBNC shareholders, descendants, and spouses. The winners are:

• Beth Hill, owner of Camp Gibraltar, a remote wilderness camp near Kokhanok at the headwaters of Gibraltar Lake. The camp offers an immersive, low-impact outdoor experience with modern comforts to support recreation, education, artist and writer retreats, and wildlife viewing while remaining connected to the land and local culture.
• Kaylee Hill, owner of K’s Cup Coffee Company, a mobile coffee trailer bringing high-quality espresso drinks to King Salmon and Naknek. Designed to serve residents, seasonal workers, and visitors, the business provides a flexible, community-centered café experience while keeping more local spending within the region.

The Aleut Shareholder Marketplace was open to Aleut corporation shareholders and descendants. Those winners are:

• Piama Oleyer, owner of Bering Home, a planned assisted living facility in Unalaska. Bering Home is designed as a ten-bed facility that integrates employee housing and telemedicine to provide high-quality, regulated elder care with 24/7 on-site support for both residential care and adult day services for local elders.
• Steven Kashevarof, owner of Arlluk Charters, a marine transport and charter business based in Chenega, serving Prince William Sound. The company provides cargo delivery, personnel transport, guided fishing, and eco-tourism charters using a commercial landing craft designed for remote and rugged coastal access.

Organizers say the competition highlighted a wide range of innovative business ideas dedicated to strengthening local economies and meeting community needs. Winners will be publicly recognized at the upcoming Alaska Impact Days event in Anchorage on April 8 and 9.

Last year, nine winners among the three regional competitions were eligible for awards of up to $25,000 apiece.

Alaska Growth Capital says the program wouldn’t be possible without the support and collaboration from strategic partners at Spruce Root, Aleut, ASRC, and BBNC. Other sponsors include Northrim Bank, Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, The Wildbirch Hotel, Alaska Pacific University, and Element Agency, as well as entrepreneurial development partners at the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development, the Alaska Small Business Development Center, and the Anchorage Community Land Trust.