The Pitch Competition
From over 50 PitchBreakfast alumni, five local startups were chosen to compete for a $1000 grand prize in the Startup Pitch Competition, presented by Castle Digital Parnters. They each had 5 minutes to present their business models and traction, and they were all asked how they would use the prize money to grow their business. The judges included PitchBreakfast panelists Christy Durbin, Garth Moulton, and Daniel Friel.
The companies and founders ranged in industry and experience, from medical device startup URise Products to "Uber for laundry" service 2ULaundry, and from college student Aaron Galloway with InfiniGift to financial services veteran Ramy Serageldin with HoneyFi. But it was custom flag printer, Flagology, who got the judges' nod for winner of the $1000 prize.
The Investor Panel
The Investor Panel, presented by AvidXchange, featured a mix of local investors who discussed the realities of attracting investment. The panel, moderated by Greg Brown (center) of the Charlotte Angel Fund, included investors Mark McDowell and Walt Frye (on the left) and Chris Halligan and Travis Parsons (on the right).
The Awards
The evening ended with the 3rd annual Startup Community Awards, presented by HQ Charlotte at Packard Place. The awards highlighted just how many entrepreneurs and organizations that support them the community has.
Energy Entrepreneur of the Year The Energy Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented by CLT Joules to Ryan Kennedy with Atom Power.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year The Social Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented by Queen City Forward to Dionne Nelson of Laurel Street Residential.
Fintech Entrepreneur of the Year The Fintech Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented by QC Fintech to Doug Lebda of Tree.com.
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year The Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented by TFX Capital to Glenn Devitt of Delitor.
Startup of the Year The Startup of the Year award was presented by StartCharlotte to Alex Smereczniak and Dan D'Aquisto of 2ULaundry.
Servant Leader Award The Servant Leader Award was presented by HQ Charlotte to our very own Juan Garzón of StartCharlotte and PitchBreakfast.
Thank You
A huge thank you goes out to all of the sponsors, partners, volunteers, and supporters who made the evening a big success! We can't wait to see you all again next year!
