The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber on Wednesday held its HYPE Pitch Competition, giving entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their businesses to a panel of judges and be awarded cash prizes and other support.
Taking first place was Zo’s Mini Donuts of Sawyer, which has now received $15,000 for impressing the judges.
Zo’s Donuts was started by Zoey and Lydia Heyn. Zoey is a junior at Bridgman High School who has always loved cooking and baking. She decided to start Zo’s Mini Donuts in the summer of 2023 when she noticed people liked her donuts best.
“Honestly, family and friends have told me multiple times that these donuts were amazing,” Zoey said. “I just heard great reviews about that. It’s just, I definitely heard positive feedback about them the most.”
The donut recipe is a family secret.
To start Zo’s Mini Donuts, Zoey enlisted the help of her sister, MSU marketing grad Lydia, because Zoey couldn’t drive. The two fixed up an old Coca-Cola trailer belonging to their dad. They painted it pink and for their first summer in 2023, stationed it near Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer.
Zoey says they were a hit, selling more than 15,000 donuts in just the first four weeks. For this past summer, the sisters acquired a second trailer and added New Buffalo to their locations.
While Zoey’s headed off to MSU after finishing high school, she wants to keep this venture going.
“This is the biggest joy of my life. I love selling donuts and it’s something I wanna continue to grow, flourish, and just see what it can be.”
The sisters hope to take Zo’s Mini Donuts to East Lansing when Zoey eventually ships out to MSU. For now, they’re just selling mini donuts out of the two trucks during the summer.
With the $15,000 Hype Award money, the Heyn sisters plan to add another truck and find a spot in St. Joseph. Lydia says the Hype Award win was a surprise.
“We are in absolute shock,” Lydia said. “We feel so blessed. We literally were so nervous. We were shaking, crying, like we were so nervous. So we’re just so blessed. I think they saw our vision for like, this is our plan A. There is no plan B.”
Coming in second place and winning $10,000 at the Hype Awards was Willowbrook Farms in Cassopolis. Third place, with $5,000, was Muddy Puddles Preschool in Stevensville. Also, the Crowd Favorite Award and its $2,500 went to Hyde’s Lifestyle Taekwondo in St. Joseph.
Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber President Arthur Havlicek says, “Supporting young entrepreneurs is central to our mission of driving economic growth and innovation in Southwest Michigan. This makes HYPE more than a competition — it’s an investment in the visionaries who will lead our region into the future, and we’re proud to provide them with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.”
