SEED SPOT wrapped its second DC accelerator program with a demo day

Entrepreneurial social impact teams took to the stage to pitch their ventures, and unlike most pitch competitions, there wasn’t a panel of judges asking questions.

SEED SPOT concluded its eight-week Impact Accelerator program with a community-wide demo day on April 9 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre. The 10 ventures that participated spent three minutes on stage pitching to more than 200 members of the #dctech community before a few cash prizes were awarded.

Kelly O’Malley and S. Lovey Parker, who led the social impact incubator’s second cohort, were in the house and presented a bunch of thank you’s before the show began. Throughout the program, the entrepreneurs pitched at Venture Thursday programs hosted by Booz Allen Hamilton. Twelve mentors worked with the cohort, including Paul Gleger from General Assembly and Matt Camp from Fannie Mae. The demo day event was sponsored by Title Sponsor Booz Allen Hamilton, Salesforce, Capital Impact Partners and WeWork was the program’s VIP Party sponsor.

More from @seedspot DC’s Impact Accelerator #DemoDay last night! #pitches #dctech pic.twitter.com/PCzkPUK2iz

— Technical.ly DC (@TechnicallyDC) April 10, 2019

To recap, here’s SEED SPOT’s second impact accelerator cohort:

• Amazi Foods, founded by Renee Dunn. Amazi Foods is a mindful food company on a mission to help you snack on purpose. Vegan, paleo, and ethically sourced, every bite of their made-in-Uganda snacks promotes job creation and farming communities.
• Elder Nourish, LLC, founded by Kimberly Lipinski with support from CTO Jim Lipinski. Elder Nourish provides elderly adults with visiting chefs who prepare customized menus that meet their individual nutritional requirements.
• Goodfynd, cofounded by Kyle Miller and Lemaire Stewart. Goodfynd makes food more accessible by connecting users to food trucks in their area, while enabling small and growing food businesses to contribute to more connected communities.
• Haven, founded by Ben Pugh. The Haven app helps users find quality healthcare professionals and services that are compatible with their insurance plan in less than 30 seconds.
• herDomain, cofounded by Quratul-Ann Malik and Meher Rehman. herDomain invests in untapped female technical talent in the developing world through providing cutting-edge tech training, remote work opportunities with U.S.-based companies, and a peer community.
• My Active Senior, founded by Shememe Williams. My Active Senior is an online, senior-friendly tool that connects seniors and their family members with local senior service providers and products while helping service providers grow their businesses.
• PAKKE, cofounded by Emmett Ferra and Kiel Byrne. PAKKE is an events and experiences platform that boosts members of the creative economy by connecting them with audiences that are searching for more experiential moments in their lives.
• PositiveHire, founded by Michele Heyward. PositiveHire’s mission is to provide women of color STEM professionals equal access to management roles to retain them in STEM industries.
• Unwanted, cofounded by Andrea Gilliam and Nick Dowling. Unwanted provides a confidential platform for every member of an organization to safely and effectively address unwanted behavior and reduce harassment in their company.
• WealthyU, founded by Deborah Owens. WealthyU is on a mission to close the investment confidence and wealth gap for women of color by providing access to curriculum, coaching, and community that teaches wealth building for all incomes.

Susan Penfield, CIO at Booz Allen Hamilton and SEED SPOT board chair, along with C’pher Gresham, SEED SPOT’s chief strategy and operations officer, presented the cash prizes sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton at the conclusion of the pitches. Amazi Foods took home the Fundraise Readiness Review award sponsored by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP’s Project W and Dunn, the company’s founder, will receive legal aid and guidance from the Project W team. The herDomain team took home $2,500 and the Grow the Good Award. After a crowd vote, Pugh, founder of Haven, took home $10,000 for the Audience Impact Award and he also received $7, 500 for the Most Promising Social Innovation Award.

And congrats to all of these entrepreneurs for taking home some prizes! @seedspot #DemoDay pic.twitter.com/gcyaf3HRo3

— Technical.ly DC (@TechnicallyDC) April 10, 2019