CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — A sweet dessert infused with tropical flavors took home the top prize in the 6th Annual Start Up Lehigh Valley pitch competition held on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem.
The pitch competition is a "Shark Tank"-style event for local entrepreneurs designed to showcase innovation happening in the community and support the next generation of local business leaders. Laura McHugh, vice president, marketing and communications, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, and Bo Koltnow, anchor/reporter at 69-WFMZ, hosted the event.
Thirty-three entries were received and narrowed down to seven finalists whose businesses included apparel, food/beverage, health and wellness apps, AI, and biomedical. The finalists made their pitches to a panel of judges during the live and online event.
The prize money — totaling more than $33,000 — is awarded by event sponsors Lehigh University and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. The grand prize winner received $20,000. Penn State Lehigh Valley is a founding and continuing partner of the event. Anibal Torres-Bernal, PSU-LV director of academic affairs, represented PSU-LV and presented three $500 Boost Awards as well as the $3,000 Founders Award.
2023’s winner, Jonathan Maderic, founder and owner of JMad Creations, a device that better measures pulse and oxygen in people with dark skin, provided a video update on his business and offered best wishes to the finalists.
The winners were:
George Awad, Aroi Mango LLC, took the $20,000 grand prize, the $3,000 Founders Award, and the $1,000 Audience Choice Award. Aroi Mango specializes in mango sticky rice, a dessert made with sweet sticky rice, ripe mango slices and coconut milk. Awad is currently a student at Lehigh University.
Nadia Alicia, Language Project LLC, was first runner up, garnering a $5,000 prize. The Language Project LLC is a Spanish immersion TV, a virtual daycare that helps youngsters become bilingual.
Marissa Diehl, BunnyCo LLC Symptom Detective, was one of the $500 Boost Award winners. Symptom Detective is an app that allows the user to enter information about exposures to food, skin products, pollen and more. Automation and AI image analysis then create personalized statistics about the user’s reaction correlation.
Kostas Hatalis, GoCharlie. This business is described as “AI solutions that transform and individualize the user experience.”
Jake Henry, Lectra Technologies Inc. Lectra Technologies created an electric simulation tape which addresses musculoskeletal problems without the need for surgery or pills.
Dave Yeager, Showcase, a curated music discovery app featuring emerging artists, was a $500 Boost Award winner.
Kady Meite, Veil Street was the third winner of a $500 Boost Award from PSU-LV. Veil Street manufactures the hoodjab, a combination hoodie and hijab.
“Startup Lehigh Valley showcases the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of our region. It empowers local startups to grow and make a lasting impact,” said Cindy Evans, Lehigh Valley LaunchBox director of business development. “At Lehigh Valley LaunchBox, we believe this competition helps ignite a culture of entrepreneurship that strengthens our community and fuels economic growth.”
Jennifer Gilburg, deputy secretary of technology and entrepreneurship, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, technology consultant John Bloys, and Susan Yee, founder and CEO, Active Data, comprised the panel of judges.
LaunchBox has resources and support available to the next generation of entrepreneurs. For more information, visit the LaunchBox website.