Seraphina Safety Apparel, Traveling Pendants take top prizes at Startup Week Pitch Competition
October 11, 2022
Ten startup founders pitched for $10K+ in cash & prizes at this year’s Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition.
Taking first place in the innovation category was Kelly Franko, founder of Seraphina Safety Apparel, designing and manufacturing flame-resistant underclothing to protect women in the industrial workplace through use of technical fabrics with performance features that increase comfort, fit, and productivity. Kelly took home $5,000 in cash + $5000 in services to grow her business.
Runner-up in the innovation category was Brett Ewing, founder of AXE.AI, developing a Cybersecurity Credit Score to help insurers and investors quantify cyber risk using a data driven security platform that analyzes every pillar of a companies security posture. Brett took home $2,500 in services to grow his business.
First place in the main street category went to Lesley Jones, founder of Traveling Pendants, creating inspirational jewelry designed to carry strength: wear for strength, pass it on to someone in need, then track it as it travels using the unique pendant number. Lesley took home $3,000 in cash to infuse into her business.
This year’s pitch competition was sponsored by Entrepreneurs’ Center and Converge Technologies.
Also pitching at the 2022 Startup Week Pitch Competition were:
In the innovation/tech-based category —
- BestShifts.com, an innovative B2B2C mobile app that’s the single source for staffing licensed professionals in the Healthcare, Administrative, Light Industrial, Trucking, Construction, and IT sectors nationwide.
- ARMA, producing a sprayable second-skin technology as a much superior replacement for the existing nitrile and latex gloves.
- COGO Insurance, an insurtech product tailored for “Smart Trucking” operations, owner-operators, small fleets and select new entrants.
In the main street category —
- Michelle Person, founder of The Tulsa Learning Center, a revolutionary, child-centered, developmentally appropriate, adequately resources, culturally responsive, educational learning center.
- Sylvia NebSa Harmon, founder of ‘The Village To Vendor Pipeline,” offering hybrid vendor sales training and social enterprise programs.
- Meredith Florkey, founder of Wildflower Child & Family Center, a high-quality nature-based child care center that leads the early childhood field in staff experience and aligns learning, living, and play with and for our natural world.
- April Kline, founder of THE WELL, a wellness center that houses a thoughtfully curated collective of diverse yet like-minded practitioners + The Soul Cucina, a community kitchen where you can grab a ready-to-nourish organic smoothie bowl, join a cooking class, or settle onto a luxurious couch with a book from the center’s library.
Congratulations to all the pitching founders!
Stay tuned to our newsletter to get to know them better.
