Regional Pitch Competition
Get ready to showcase your company and its IMPACT!
Meet the Regional Pitch Winners
The pitches were polished, the questions were thoughtful, and the competition was tough! It was an exciting morning at the 2026 WBEC Florida Regional Pitch Competition on Friday, September 18. And four companies have been selected to move foward to the Semi-Finals in the WBENCPitch competition toward a chance to compete for a $20,000 prize this fall.
Now it’s on to the next round! Great job, contestants!
Globowl
Erica Bethe Levin
CEO/Founder
Globowl brings the world to babies, starting with their very first bites. Created to fill a gap in the traditional baby food aisle, Globowl offers internationally inspired foods with real flavor, texture and spice, packaged in glass jars. Its six organic recipes are designed to “Open the Flavor Window®” and support early exposure to diverse foods. Globowl is available through its website, Amazon, Thrive Market, Buy Buy Baby and 300 retail doors, with direct sales growing 483% last year.
Element of Change
Lisa Rigoli
CEO/Founder
Element of Change is a leadership development firm. We build leadership capability inside organizations going through change: restructures, new operating models, senior transitions. Companies are pulling work back in house, and their teams don't have the capacity to absorb it. That's where we come in. We don't create dependency. We transfer capability. Clients across healthcare, retail, hospitality, and nonprofit see 90% leader retention, 25% capability gain, 100% manager-verified.
Rootsy Inc.
Michelle Correa
CEO/Founder
Rootsy is a Latina-founded, women-owned food company reimagining the classic frozen waffle with real, thoughtfully chosen ingredients. Cassava, a naturally gluten-free and grain-free root, is at the heart of its crispy, fluffy waffles. Rootsy believes every ingredient tells a story, considering the nutrition, land, farmers and communities behind its products while honoring ingredients connected to Latin roots. Its Homestyle and Blueberry Cassava Waffles are currently available in more than 200 retail stores across 10 states.
Gheorg
Dana Klein
President
Gheorg (pronounced “George”) is a mental health app designed to make therapy support more accessible for children ages 4–12. The human-in-the-loop, machine-learning telehealth app uses friendly characters, interactive activities and evidence-based psychology to help children build emotional intelligence and identify, articulate and cope with triggers. A parent portal and clinician dashboard provide real-time monitoring. Gheorg is designed to support children experiencing anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD and autism.
Thank You to Our Pitch Judges
These professionals helped choose our competitors who are moving forward in the competition, using WBENC's criteria and their own experience in the business world:
- Johanna Bratslavsky, Manager, Global Supplier Diversity, CHEP
- Arati Batta, Retired, Federal Reserve Bank; and WBEC FL Board
- Buffy Butler, Managing Director, NEXTAFF of S. Florida; and WBEC FL Board
- Keith McDuffie, Procurement Manager, VyStar Credit Union
-
Daniela Brink, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch
Watch the Recording of Our Informational Session
In this video, we walk you through the requirements and timelines for participating in the pitch competition series. We also offer tips for preparing yourself for the virtual stage so you can smile and enjoy the excitement of pitching your products or services!
Watch the Video
The 2026 WBEC Florida Regional Pitch Competition serves as a qualifying round for the National WBENC Semi-Finals.
WBENCPitch is a signature WBENC program featuring a series of educational sessions and pitch competitions to help WBEs hone their business pitch, gain meaningful exposure, and compete for grants and other prizes to invest in their business.
The 2026 WBENCPitch IMPACT competition is focused on storytelling and impact. In this ever-changing business landscape, it is critical now more than ever for business owners to effectively communicate beyond their capabilities or the problems they solve.
The competition will feature two separate categories: Products and Services. Each category will award two (2) winners.
1. First Place: $20,000
2. Runner Up: Complimentary registration to the 2027 WBENC National Conference
How the Competition Works:
FIRST ROUND: IMPACT YOUR AUDIENCE
The first round includes a one-minute (60-second) pitch and 3 minutes of Q&A from the judges in front of a live virtual audience at the WBEC Florida level.
This takes place at the regional level, so you'll be pitching to judges with WBEC Florida. You will use storytelling techniques to clearly describe who you are and what youre business does. The key is to deliver your message in a way that creates memorable and lasting IMPACT on both the judges and the audience.
You will pitch before a panel of judges who will select 5 contestants to go to the Second Round: 2 product businesses, 2 service businesses, and the 2026 WBE Star.
First Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch make a memorable IMPACT and leave the audience wanting more information?
SECOND ROUND: ELEVATE YOUR IMPACT
The second round includes a 90-second pitch and a one-question Q&A from the audience during a live virtual event at the national level.
You must elaborate on either the metric-driven or mission-driven impact your business creates.
Semi-Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch highlight the company’s meaningful or measurable impact?
FINAL ROUND: HONE YOUR IMPACT
In the final round, you will spotlight one IMPACT category, in a 2-minute pitch and a 2-minute Q&A with the judges in a live virtual event at the national level.
In the IMPACT category you choose, you must illustrate meaningful and measurable examples of how your company has created and continues to create powerful and lasting impact.
Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch clearly define and elaborate on one specific IMPACT category?
Judges' Scoring Criteria
Here is a comparison of the scoring criteria judges will use for each round of the competition leading up to the final choices of WBENC Pitch Competition winners. Note that the first four criteria stay the same throughout, while the fifth element, impact, changes with each round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the judges?
What are the deadlines?
What are the criteria for the pitch?
Application Requirements
How long is the pitch video?
How do I submit my pitch video?
Resources
Check out these books and links to help you prepare for your pitch.
TedEx Talk: The elevator speech is out of order: Michelle Golden at TEDxCitadelPark
Click on Book Cover to learn more about that title.
