Startup and community event Pitch Black is back this year and headed to its biggest venue yet: The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton.
Tickets are on sale now for the event slated for Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. Like previous years proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward the prize package for winning companies or ideas.
Pitch Black features entrepreneurs with companies or new ideas who pitch those concepts to an audience. The audience votes and the winners receive some level of cash to go toward their business or idea. Last year's big winner was Adre, a BIPOC-focused real estate development company. Adre won $40,000 from the competition plus another $10,000 from a donation by Intel.
With this year’s event the voting process will be done through a mobile app instead of the previous manual voting that saw audience members mingling and talking to the pitchers, said organizer Stephen Green.
Major sponsors of the event are Nike, Oregon Community Foundation, the city of Beaverton, Autodesk and the Port of Portland.
Some of the people presenting are:
- Winta Yohannes, executive director of Albina Vision Trust
- Jonathan Jones, chef and owner of Epilogue Kitchen
- Desiree Williams-Rajee, co-founder of Beaverton Black Parent Union
- Rashad Floyd, founder of Heart & Hustle Productions
- Lestarya Molloy, founder of Fridie Outdoors
- Cyrus Coleman, founder of Creative Homies
The event is meant to bring people together and highlight, and perhaps fund, ideas bubbling in the community or introduce people to new businesses they might not know about. Green also hopes that seeing people talk about their ideas or the reaction their own ideas can inspire folks to take the next step and start something.
“We have a lot of great talent at places like Intel and Nike that are sitting on the side and this (could) be the thing that takes the idea they have been noodling on and this is a way to take it to the community,” said Green.
The move to Beaverton came after a meeting between Green and Mayor Lacey Beaty.
"I am stoked that we are bringing PitchBlack to Beaverton,” said Beaty in a statement. “This event showcases, uplifts and supports the incredible talents of Black entrepreneurs in Beaverton and the region. It’s a visible manifestation of our value for diversity, centering of equity, and commitment to inclusion.”
Beaverton City Manager Jenny Haruyama echoed Beaty and noted that the city's economic development strategy is rooted in equity.
"We strive to be a welcoming community where BIPOC entrepreneurs and businesses can grow and build generational wealth,"Haruyama said. "Events like Pitch Black are instrumental to making that vision a reality, helping to create equitable and inclusive economies."
The first Pitch Black was held in 2015. Since then, Green has brought the event to Seattle, Austin and Philadelphia. To date 100 founders have pitched their ideas and 1,000 people have attended across all the cities. The event has generated $100,000 that has been invested into winning ideas.
