St. Petersburg Pitch Night is back, and the newly announced finalists will pitch on Dec. 12.
The event is a regular St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce contest. It's presented by The Greenhouse, an expert-led business support program, and funded by Regions Bank. The contest is an effort to showcase and boost the local startup community.
Finalists were chosen based on an application process. To apply, companies had to have presented at "1 Million Cups St. Pete" or be enrolled in an entrepreneurship program at a Tampa Bay area college or university. Finalists also had to complete two sessions with a pitch coach mentor through The Greenhouse.
Each participant will present for six minutes and then spend six minutes answering questions. The winner will be awarded $5,000.
Here are the finalists who will pitch:
Axees
Who they are: This company is based in St. Petersburg and was founded in 2019, according to its LinkedIn. Max Gallardo, founder, has a background in project management and recruitment. He previously worked for Yahoo, ExxonMobil, Citi and IBM.
What they do: Axees is a marketing platform that matches brands looking to capitalize on the creator economy through advertising with social media influencers.
Hairlines PRO
Who they are: Wimauma-located Troy Jones, the co-founder and CEO, is a professional cosmetologist who has owned three barber salons. He's also a computer network engineer, according to his website.
What they do: Hairlines was founded as an app for barbers to connect to a customer base. It's also a way for customers to book haircuts from their homes.
Fractio
Who they are: Fatin Kwasny is a longtime Tampa Bay area resident who has worked at tech companies in various cities before deciding to start Fractio in her hometown.
What they do: Fractio is a subscription platform connecting startups to fractional employees as a way to fill roles in digital marketing, sales enablement, operations and people management. It was founded in 2022 and has connected with several fractionals available to be hired.
Numa Notes
Who they are: Cole Smith, the founder, is a machine learning engineer and a longtime resident of St. Pete. He founded the company with his co-founder, Christina and his mother, Anne, a therapist.
What they do: Numa is an artificial intelligence-powered note-taking platform for therapists. It's a support mechanism for therapists to make notes consistent and insightful and help generate questions for sessions. It listens to sessions and dictation while creating materials for the therapist to study and reference.
FedScribe AI
Who they are: Johnny Saye has worked in the professional soccer space, at IBM and as a consultant in Spain. He's also the founder of Stale Chips, a consulting agency that contracts with the Department of Defense.
What they do: FedScribe AI is described as "a government proposal team in your pocket." It wants to support small businesses in winning government contracts through a personalized AI assistant, according to its website.
