Yesterday was the annual pitch competition Bright Buffalo Niagara presented by University at Buffalo, hosted at the newly opened Hotel Henry.
At the event, startup companies had 90 seconds or five minutes to pitch their company to the audience and a panel of judges.
Of the final five companies previously narrowed down by a selecting company, only one went home with the $20,000 grand prize. After the five-minute pitches and Q&A session, the judges selected Rachel’s Remedy, who is helping to solve issues women have while breastfeeding. The pitch highlighted the bizarre remedies that previously existed and argued the company had produced a better, safer way. They have recently partnered with Target and now retail at $29.99.
The People’s Choice Award, a $5,000 prize picked by the audience out of the 90 second pitches, was awarded to Sweet Spot, a company rethinking the way we park. Rather than driving around in circles looking for that one glorious spot in a packed lot, Sweet Spot links into security cameras and can navigate you to the nearest open spot at a given location. Thus far, they have reached a deal with University at Buffalo.
The other companies that did not receive a monetary award were still given the platform to pitch their company and host an exhibition table for questions and business opportunities. A former Bright runner-up presented on its successes since the competition, highlighting the point that there was not a loser in the room.
The presenting sponsor for Bright Buffalo Niagara was Viaduct, a new resource for startups and small businesses. They assist in validation, recruiting, and acceleration. Managing Director Johan Klarin gave an address about the sometimes precarious and winding road startups and entrepreneurs take to success.
“Startups don’t always make sense to the rational mind,” Klarin said.
That message was also echoed in the keynote address from author Frans Johansson. He emphasized the idea thatsuccessful startups are not always logical or predictable throughout his entertaining speech. Sometimes they take going in the wrong direction and sometimes that means going in a direction you did not even originally set out to be on. He also emphasized the idea that economic development is the constant encouragement of innovation. Johansson is world renowned for his books, The Medici Effect and his newest The Click Moment.
City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stopped by the event to praise the progress of the startup ecosystem. He focused on small business in his address, highlighting a video the City of Buffalo and Invest Buffalo Niagara produced on the small business advantages in Buffalo.
Additionally, we are very proud to announce that Invest Buffalo Niagara COO Jenna Kavanaugh received the Bright Partner of the Year award during the event. We are so thrilled that the committe found her service to the Buffalo Niagara region and the entrepreneurial ecosystem deserving of the award. We’re lucky to have her. Congratulations, boss!