Rinse-A-Poo Founder Won State Business Competition
North Carolina hardware developers can use grants to transition from prototype to production.
Updated on Oct. 13, 2026 in Openings & Closings
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Dan Spangler, founder of Rinse-A-Poo, secured $30,000 in first-place funding at the N.C. Small Business Center Network inaugural competition. The contest awarded a total of $60,000 to three winners selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants.
Why it matters
The grant program provides critical capital to help early-stage businesses bridge the gap between initial product development and commercial scaling. Beyond direct funding, the competition provided 1,050 hours of technical assistance to participants to accelerate business development.
The competition awarded $30,000 to first-place winner Rinse-A-Poo, compared to $20,000 for Victorious Wellness and $10,000 for The Gilded Lantern. The organizers leveraged 1,050 hours of total counseling across the 300-applicant pool to support the finalists.
The players
Dan Spangler
The founder of Rinse-A-Poo and an entrepreneur who successfully exited a pet care business in 2024.
Wells Fargo Foundation
A major corporate philanthropic organization that provided the funding for the statewide business competition.
N.C. Community Colleges Foundation
An educational foundation that co-funded the Small Business Center Network competition.
The details
Rinse-A-Poo is a hardware product designed with an unbendable aluminum frame to reduce wrist strain, currently retailing at $399. The company plans to use the grant to transition from its prototype stage to full production through its existing manufacturer in Leland. Founder Dan Spangler previously invested $56,000 of personal capital into the business after selling a prior pet care venture in 2024.
Timeline
2024: Dan Spangler sold his previous pet care business.
October 2026: Rinse-A-Poo won the inaugural SBCN Showdown competition.
Market Landscape
This event marks the inaugural use of the N.C. Small Business Center Network competition to channel both grant funding and technical counseling into early-stage product manufacturing. It follows a growing regional trend of pairing institutional capital with technical support to de-risk hardware startups.
Founders of hardware-focused businesses should monitor how competitors leverage grants to subsidize their transition from prototype to production. Using state-sponsored technical counseling can provide a competitive edge in managing manufacturing operations and hardware retail pricing.
The takeaway
The inaugural competition illustrates that even small-business grants can significantly reduce the cash-outlay burden for hardware-based companies. Operators should track local community college grant cycles as a potential non-dilutive source of capital for prototype scaling.
Further reading
For more on the state's latest business developments, visit the North Carolina Openings & Closings section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Business North Carolina.
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