Fort Worth biotech company Eosera Inc. named three finalists for its pitch competition for women-led businesses that want to grow fast.
Eosera co-founder Elyse Dickerson founded EmpowHERment Pitch Competition last year to pay it forward. Competing in a pitch competition in Dallas was an important part of funding and establishing Eosera, Dickerson previously said. The competition is open to any woman-founded startup business located in Texas.
Last year, Boozy Bites, a company that makes edible cocktails, won the top prize.
This time, the winning company will receive $15,000, and the runner-up will receive $10,000. Simmons Bank is writing the check for the first-place winner. The startups will pitch to a panel of judges and a live audience Nov. 14 at the University of North Texas Health Science Center Next offices during global entrepreneurship week.
The finalists:
- Austin-based Audiolo is a web application that automates audio management for animation studios such as Netflix, Sony and Nickelodeon. The company says its product speeds up the production pipeline.
- Houston-based Bairitone Health is running clinical studies to develop technology to relieve sleep apnea.
- Dallas-based Hangio is a company manufacturing a clothes hanger that can be bent six ways to store a variety of tops, including sweaters.
If you go: Eosera’s EmpowHERment Pitch Competition
When: 6-8 p.m. Nov. 14
Where: UNT Health Science Center Next offices, 550 Bailey Ave., Fort Worth
Website: empowhermentpitch.com
Cost: Free
More than 50 companies applied to the competition, Dickerson said. The finalists have big, well-thought-out ideas, she said.
“We’re giving a platform to these women, and they may not have had a big platform, yet,” Dickerson said. “This might be their first big platform to really showcase their company and what they’re doing.”
Raising enough money is a challenge for many businesses when starting out. Fort Worth Report previously reported how many business owners travel outside of Fort Worth to seek funding.
The city of Fort Worth does have a business plan competition, and the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce also hosts a pitch competition.
The pitch competition ultimately benefits Fort Worth, Dickerson said.
“What I love about bringing them to Fort Worth is we’re putting them in front of potential investors into these companies,” Dickerson said. “And if these companies do well, the investors do well, and that money flows back into the Fort Worth economy.”
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Seth Bodine is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at seth.bodine@fortworthreport.org and follow on Twitter @sbodine120.
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