FayVen, a Tampa startup that connects pop-up vendors with spaces to sell, won $20,000 at "Saluting Her Service," a women veteran entrepreneur competition in September.
The rivalry on Sept. 20 set seven female entrepreneurs, including FayVen, pitching against each other for the grand prize. FayVen's CEO and co-founder, April Caldwell, won and now hopes to develop the company further with the cash infusion.
"There are many organizations that support veteran entrepreneurs, but this one by far is giving out the most monetary value as far as actual cash and tangible things," she said, on what helps startups the most.
The money will go to advertising, marketing and providing a better value for FayVen customers, she said.
She also won a heavyweight champion's belt. She said, jokingly, that she hoped no one looked in her luggage on the way home and saw the massive belt. The competition also gave each participant an Apple laptop, a suit and SEO website support as part of the program.
Daymond John, the investor and television personality of "Shark Tank," attended and committed several hours of networking sessions to be auctioned. Participants were gifted the auctioned hours, so Caldwell should be able to meet with John in the future, she said.
In 2022, Caldwell won $50,000 in prizes from "Not a Drill," a pitch competition on Bloomberg TV. She also won $1,500 in a pitch contest at State College of Florida in 2020 and several other competitions, such as the St. Petersburg Pitch Night prize in 2022.
Caldwell is a member of the Embarc Collective and a graduate of the Tampa Bay Wave business accelerator program. Caldwell is currently looking for a lead investor for FayVen. The company is entirely self-funded, she said.
FayVen is a platform that Caldwell set out to build in 2018 after struggling to find the best way to sell gourmet popcorn. Her idea, FayVen, is to create an app that connects venues with vendors looking to sell their merchandise.
Currently, Caldwell is focusing on growing her partnerships with venues like local colleges and hotels. FayVen is currently partnered with 1,000 vendors, she said.
"Our main goal for the next six months is to conquer Florida and make sure that we're available in all cities in the state," Caldwell said.
