Premier Pitch Event for Women Entrepreneurs
Finalists pose after successful presentations. From left, Barbara Doyne,Tanya Whye, Jennifer Kmiec, Sharon Hake, Great Dames CEO and President, Molly Hayward, and Morgan Berman. Photo courtesy Great Dames.
Great Dames Remarkable Ideas Competition reached a fever pitch on Oct. 20 as five finalists presented their innovative business ideas to a standing-room-only crowd at the high-stakes event. Finalists competed for a winner package worth more than $25,000 in seed money and services to help advance their business ideas.
The five finalists emerged from a group of 41 applicants from across the mid-Atlantic region, including 25 from Delaware.
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Since the competition was launched on Sept. 10, women entrepreneurs responded enthusiastically to the pitch competition targeting women-owned enterprises in the region.
One contestant said, “Entering the Great Dames competition was a terrific experience for me “¦I am in the process of starting a new business, and my completion of the Great Dames Remarkable Ideas application was a worthwhile process for my business and me. Thank you for making this competition available.”
A group of seven preliminary judges evaluated and ranked the pool of 41 applications, looking for the business model that best met the competition criteria ““ relevance in the market place, sustainable business model, and delivering a positive impact on the community.
The five finalists were:
“¢ Molly Hayward, Cora, whose product is a customizable box of organic menstrual products delivered monthly, with profits used to provide products to girls in India, www.corawomen.com
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Jennifer Kmiec, Inspiring Women in STEM, a series of high-quality conferences and workshops designed to encourage and inspire women scientists, engineers and other STEM professionals, www.inspiringwomeninstem.com
Barbara Doyne, 5 Star Women, the voice for women veterans, raising awareness and funding for programs that addresses the challenges they face, www.5starwomen.org
Morgan Berman, MilkCrate, an app that connects consumers to local, sustainable businesses in their area, www.milkcratephilly.com
Tanya Whye, DE Green Mattress Disassembling and Recycling, a business that dismantles used mattresses and box springs to recover 85-95 percent of recyclables while giving offenders training and transferrable skills, www.DGreenMDR.com
After each pitch presentation, finalists were questioned by a panel of judges to address any gaps and potential opportunities. Judges included: Susan Leath, president and publisher, The News Journal; Anne Shehab, managing director, Golden Seeds investment firm; Betsy LeRoy, Pizza By Elizabeths owner and Mona Parikh, managing director of the Start It Up Delaware tech hub.
During the presentations, the Great Dames community in the audience was invited to provide written feedback, ideas and synergies for each presenter.They were also encouraged to offer their contact information to each presenter for further interaction, support and mentorship.
Each member of the audience was invited to vote for the winning pitch presentation. Competition judges will count the ballots in the coming weeks
to identify the winner.
The winner will be announced by Carla Markell, Delaware’s first lady, on Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Pizza by Elizabeths in Greenville. For info/tickets:www.Great-Dames.com/events
Additional announcements will be made on Nov. 10 to the Great Dames Community of Remarkable Women Entrepreneurs, including all 41 contestants, to ensure that they have access to the business mentors and resources they need.
