Meet the winners of the 2023 DC Startup Week pitch competition

With another DC Startup Week in the books, there’s a new crop of startup leaders to keep your eye on.

Presenting at the National Building Museum, 10 entrepreneurs showed off their startups in the event’s annual pitch competition. The founders competed in two tracks, early stage and growth stage, for the chance to win funding for their young company. Local tech leaders including Angel Rich of CreditRich served as judges for the event.

The five early-stage finalists were:

• BuildUp — A Web3-based transaction service for small businesses
• Pacto Medical — A compact syringe that helps improve sustainability and storage options while lowering shipping costs
• GoPursue — A service that connects high school and college students with professionals to learn about different career paths
• Billie Bot — A virtual companion for students that uses AI and a gamified model to support safety and mental health habits
• JotLogs — A surgical intelligence startup that uses AI to help improve surgical techniques and technology

GoPursue, a former Halcyon cohort member, took home $1,500 as the winner in the early-stage category. Founder Kathryn Breisch said she started the company because, as a 17-year-old, she had no idea what she wanted her career to be. As a result, she spent $150,000 on an education she didn’t end up using.

“I spent about 10 years working in K-12 education with high school students and realized they’re all facing the same problem,” she said during her pitch.

And the five growth-stage contestants:

• Social Current — A matching service that pairs nonprofits, impact organizations and purpose-driven companies with internet creators
• Amäzi — A dried fried snack company that ethically makes its products in Uganda
• Upling — A Black-owned cannabis delivery app company in Maryland
• Sunny Day Fund — A financial wellness platform that helps workers build up emergency savings by providing a payroll-deducted emergency savings program
• Ecolytics — A platform that helps companies track their impact data for sustainability

Colin Fraser, the founder of Upling, was declared the winner of the growth-stage round. The startup, which hires returning citizens, wants to make medical cannabis more accessible, especially for folks who have a hard time making it to a dispensary because of health issues.

“We saw that it’s hard for those who are older or vets to get their medication,” Fraser said. “So when you talk about medical cannabis, it’s hard for them to go into the lines, stand up and get cannabis.”

Funding amounts for both winners are typically announced immediately following the event, but the announcement for the growth stage was delayed due to a founder being unable to present during the main pitch event. Technical.ly has reached out to DCSW representatives and will update the story when we hear back.

The 2022 event’s winners were hiking connection tool Urban Outdoors and nail polish brand Janet and Jo. In the time since, Urban Outdoors has launched its Outerly tool to find hikes in beta mode, and Janet and Jo took home first place in a Jack Daniels pitch competition.