Lavni Inc. wins $20,000 at Summerfest Tech pitch competition. Madison firm comes in second.

Lavni Inc., a mental health-based startup from Raleigh, North Carolina, with a mission to help underserved communities, won the Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition’s $20,000 grand prize on Wednesday evening. 

The competition took place at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino and featured seven tech startups from around the country that pitched five-minute presentations to a panel of six judges. 

RedFox AI was the second-place winner and took home $10,000. The Madison-based company provides an AI-powered, voice-guided solution to ensure the proper use of at-home diagnostic tests, devices and therapeutics. AfroCharts, a global streaming platform for African music based in Milwaukee, won third-place and $5,000. The streaming service won an additional $5,000 as the “Hometown Winner,” a prize that provides further incentive for Milwaukee startups to participate. All other competitors received $2,500 for attending and pitching their startups. 

Of the eight tech-based startups listed on the Summerfest Tech agenda, seven were in attendance. Leantime, a simplified project management software company, could not attend. 

Co-founder Marcus King of Lavni pitched to the judges Wednesday afternoon. According to King, there are 23 million people in underserved communities around the country who are not receiving adequate mental health services. This is primarily due to a stigma associated with therapy, King explained. Lavni aims to provide personalized, cost-effective and online therapy sessions to patients who can opt to appear on screen with an avatar in order to maintain their privacy. The company launched in September and has 160 users, has held 482 sessions and works with 28 mental health professionals. 

Three contestants hailed from the Milwaukee area. AfroCharts, the competition's third-place winner; CrossKudi, from Wauwatosa, a fee-free money transfer system meant to help immigrants send funds back to their home countries; and Wellacy Health, in Milwaukee, a patient-engagement platform that focuses on lowering health disparities by using existing Medicare incentives to help primary doctors deliver additional patient care.

From Green Bay, AppEase LLC aimed to significantly speed up the retrieval and transfer of health documentation in the health system and insurance space. Cookie Langs Inc., from New York City, is an AI-based language-learning software that partners with celebrities, influencers and brands to focus a user’s learning goals on his or her interests. Leantime is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and provides a simplified project management solution for businesses.

Jonah Turner, the head of emerging technology for Molson Coors Beverage Co., hosted the competition.

Judges for this year’s competition included Andre Hall, an IT business partner with event sponsor Molson Coors; Dan Gawronski, a partner with the entrepreneur-focused legal support firm Venture Best; Jasmin Treske, the director of early talent with the MKE Tech Hub Coalition; Nikki Purvis, the president and CEO of the African American Chambers of Commerce; Richelle Martin, the managing director of Wisconsin startup investor Winnow Fund; and Midpoint Ventures managing partner Israel Squires.

Turner used the time between pitches to pulse out trivia questions and prizes to audience members brave enough to raise their hand and volunteer.

Wednesday afternoon’s Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition was produced by Young Enterprising Society.

According to its website, the society has helped launch 74 tech-focused startups, most of which are from Wisconsin. The competition was one of many events programmed by Summerfest Tech. The three-day event will conclude Thursday after have hosting dozens of other events and breakouts, including Tuesday’s keynote speech by GE HealthCare CIO on IT innovation and end-to-end health care solutions. Wednesday also featured music entrepreneur and globally recognized podcast host Emily White. She spoke about tech advancement and entrepreneurship. 

The Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition was sponsored by Molson Coors and is part of Summerfest Tech’s larger mission to showcase Wisconsin as a hub for technology.