In the midst of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Fort Worth ear care startup EOSOREA held its second annual EmpowHERment Pitch Competition Tuesday. Three startups competed, and all went home with prizes. But top honors went to Audiolo—a company that “accelerates the entire production pipeline and saves production studios millions of dollars per show.”
Audiolo founder Sarah Morgan snagged first place and the top prize of $15,000, sponsored by Simmons Bank. Her win came after each startup pitched for eight minutes, with four minutes of “Shark Tank”-like Q&A from a panel of three judges
Second place and its prize of $10,000 sponsored by Higginbotham went to Hangio, a startup founded by Ayo Aigbe that’s revolutionized the hanger with a version that can be bent in more than six ways to store delicate tops like turtlenecks and knitwear:
The Texas-made Hangio Hanger was one of the three finalists in EOSERA’s annual EmpowHERment Pitch Competition. [Photos: Hangio]
The third place winner was Bairitone Health, founded by Meagan Pitcher, who won three one-hour coaching sessions with Stagen Leadership Academy Coach Wes Rosacker. Bairitone Health aims to unlock a bottleneck on sleep apnea therapeutic delivery in a billion-dollar beachhead market.
Additional Global Entrepreneurship Week events are happening through Sunday across North Texas.. You can check out the remaining schedule by going here.
“Congratulations to all the finalists who competed so brilliantly tonight, and a heartfelt cheers to Audiolo on their win for the evening,” EOSERA Co-Founder and CEO Elyse Stoltz Dickerson said in a statement. “I was blown away by the ingenuity and bravery in the room, and I wish you all continued success in your businesses!”
Judges for the event included Mia Meachem, President of KINLO, a sun care brand founded by Naomi Osaka; Meggie Lowy, Senior VP of Dallas-based Hillwood, one of the nation’s top industrial, commercial, and residential real estate developers; and Kari Crowe, CEO of MELT Ice Creams, a Texas ice cream shop concept with 4 locations and SKUs in Whole Foods.
Satori Capital, Tech Fort Worth, UNT Health Science Center, and Stagen Leadership Academy also partnered to help present the event.
Co-founded in 2015 by CEO Elyse Dickerson and Chief Scientific Officer Joe Griffin, EOSERA is a biotech company focused on disrupting what it calls “a sleepy ear care category” with new technology and an innovative go-to-market strategy. In September, the company cut the ribbon on a new Fort Worth facility featuring an expanded office space and manufacturing footprint.
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R E A D N E X T
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EOSERA's second annual pitch competition will be held in November during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The competition focuses on female founders—or women who own the highest percentage of their business—whose companies are located in Texas.
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Designed for female-led, Texas-based startups, this year's competition will be held in Fort Worth on November 14 during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Three finalists will pitch live for a chance to win a total of $25,000.
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Concern has swept the nation since COVID hit about the pandemic's lasting affects on the mental health of children and adolescents. But that mental health crisis has actually been worsening for years, even before the pandemic. The Dallas Morning News' Marin Wolf explores what Children’s Health, UT Southwestern, Cook Children's, and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute are doing to get ahead of the problem.
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