Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship recently hosted its annual Business Pitch Competition, where small businesses have a chance to win $25,000 in grants.
La Lew Public Relations won the $15,000 grand prize and Allergy Advocates NY received $10,000 as runner-up.
ROC the Pitch is designed to help local businesses and entrepreneurs access capital and grow their businesses. Participants with an existing business plan and business model that generates a minimum of $25,000 in annual gross revenue are encouraged to apply to present their business ideas within seven minutes.
This year's participants were competing for a share of $25,000 in grants to help grow their businesses, featuring business owners from across the Finger
Lakes nine-county region.
Each participant is required to complete 24 hours of Business Pitch Bootcamp and two hours of consulting. On the day of the competition, entrepreneurs have seven minutes to present their business model to a live audience and judges. After each presentation, judges are given five minutes to ask questions about the business model.
Four small businesses participated in the competition. Participants included:
- La Lew Public Relations, founded by Jessica Lewis
- Positive Vibrations Fitness LLC, founded by Sofia Natasha
- Allergy Advocates NY, founded by Toni Taylor and Jon Terry
- Curl Power, founded by Franchesca Colon
Local entrepreneurs win $25K in grants for their business
Audience members also had the opportunity to choose a winner of the People's Choice Award, a prize of $2,000. The Rochester Rotary presented a $1,000 prize as a part of its Four-Way Test Award.
Winners of the RIT ROC the Pitch Business competition include:
- $1,000 to Allergy Advocates for the Rochester Rotary Four-Way Test
- $2,000 to La Lew Public Relations for the People's Choice Award
- $10,000 to Allergy Advocates NY as runner-up of the competition
- $15,000 to La Lew Public Relations as grand prize winner of the competition
Entrepreneurs can visit rit.edu/cue/roc-pitch-application to learn more about future opportunities.
— Genae Shields is the Business and Development Impact Reporter, working on mobility stories that focus on how people get around Rochester. As a member of the local community, Genae enjoys learning about emerging businesses and changes that impact Rochester's BIPOC and LGBTQ neighborhoods. She also enjoys supporting local artists and nonprofit organizations. Reach out at gshields@usatodayco.com or on Instagram:@genaebriphoto for questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you for your continued support!
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: La Lew wins $15K in RIT business pitch competition
