This week’s 1 Million Cups at the Kauffman Foundation featured startup pitches for a locally made hot sauce and a website aimed at the golf tournament planning industry.

The guest panel of startup inquisitors consisted of Thad Langford, co-founder and managing partner of BlackOps Development; Monica McAtee, product manager at the Sprint Accelerator; and Jason Grill, founder of JGrill Media LLC.

Tasty Thai Tiger Cried Sauce at 1 Million Cups

First up was Marisa Wiruhayarn, founder of Tasty Thai Tiger Cried Sauce, which originated at her Tasty Thai restaurants in the Kansas City area. This year, Wiruhayarn began offering her bottled hot sauce not only at Tasty Thai locations, but also at Hy-Vee, Hen House and Price Chopper grocery stores. Bottles sell for $5 on the Tasty Thai website; prices vary on grocery shelves.

Wiruhayarn emphasized the versatility of her hot sauce, which is more than hot, she said.

“You put it on anything, and it will bring out the flavor,” she said. “It doesn’t just cover the food. It enhances it.”

With 7,000 bottles sold to date, Tasty Thai Tiger Cried Sauce can be used as a marinade, on the side or even as a salad dressing, Wiruhayarn said. It’s made from fresh, dry Thai chili peppers combined with lemon juice and fish sauce. The result is a spicy, sweet and tangy product that contains no MSG or preservatives.

Wiruhayarn also wants to market her beef jerky to grocery stores in the future.

“You will love it,” she said. “I’ll be back here to tell you about that.”

Plan My Tournament at 1 Million Cups

Next up was Ashley Backhus, founder of Plan My Tournament, a website that helps golf tournament planners and golf courses connect in the $68 billion golf industry.

The site’s search engine supplies information about 9,000 golf courses, Backhus said, including clubhouse capacity and food and beverage options—information that tournament planners need. Users of the site can also rate and review golf courses.

Golf courses do not pay Plan My Tournament to appear on the website. Income is generated for the business from home page advertising, “white paper” golf blog sponsorships, marketing packages and referral fees.

“The feedback that we get from golf courses is that it’s a resource that is needed …” Backhus said. “It means additional revenues for them.”