The Three Winners of Pitch HearstLab Texas and a Recap of The Lab’s Sixth Major Pitch Event

On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, we held our sixth Pitch HearstLab event at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts during San Antonio Startup Week.

Out of nearly 400 applications from women-led startups from across the country, six finalists were accepted to pitch in-person in San Antonio. Two of the six finalists were from HearstLab’s pitch event for university women, Pitch HearstLab U.

Each founder pitched to a live audience and a panel of expert judges, including Hearst EVP & HearstLab Chairwoman Eve Burton, San Antonio Express-News Publisher & CEO Mark Medici,  Founder & President of Opt In Experts Mari Aguirre Rodriguez, and the Co-Founder of Active Capital and Chairwoman of Geekdom Cat Dizon.

The event’s winners were: EZ Newswire, a platform that makes it easy and affordable for businesses of all sizes to create and publish their news, Meili Technologies, an AI-based driver incapacitation detection system for fleet and passenger vehicles, and Scope Zero, creator of the Carbon Savings Account™ for home technology and personal transportation upgrades that fosters employee financial wellness and enables corporate ESG strategy.

After each PitchHearst Lab finalist completed their five minute pitch, the four judges were given seven minutes to ask follow-up questions in front of the live audience. Here are some notable Q&A’s:

• When asked about EZ Newswire’s ideal customer profile (ICP) and their competitors, founder Caitlin Kelly explained that EZ Newswire’s competitors “have not been incentivized to grow in a new, different way and continue to attract a very specific type of customer (the 1%).” In comparison, EZ Newswire’s ICP is “everybody” because it’s for everybody, especially “growing businesses who understand the value business news can have on driving brand awareness and over time, sales attribution,” said Caitlin.
• When asked if Scope Zero appeals predominantly to younger employees who are traditionally more climate conscious compared to their Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues, founder Lizzy Kolar explained that the “CSA (Carbon Savings Account) is a ‘financial wellness benefit’. Employees in their late 20’s to early 60’s are signing up because they benefit a lot from the carbon savings account even if climate is not something they think about on a daily basis.”
• When asked about the data privacy concerns regarding Meili Technologies, founder Samantha Lee explained that she and her team are aware that “no one wants to be watched all the time! We just extract key facial points and key body points and can do this without using a camera. Encryption and customers being able to opt-in and opt-out are very important to us as well.”

In addition to a $100,000 investment from HearstLab, each company will be given access to Hearst’s 360+ businesses across the media, enterprise technology, fintech, data analytics, healthcare, and transportation sectors and the entire HearstLab team. Our team provides support services across business development, engineering, financial analysis, product development, privacy and security audits, legal services, marketing, UX/UI and more. Portfolio companies also get access to office space at the Hearst Tower headquarters in New York City.

Pitch HearstLab is the biggest competition for women-led startups in the world. With prior competitions in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Madrid, HearstLab has invested over $1 million in women-led B2B(2C) and SaaS early stage startups through the pitch series alone. To date, HearstLab has invested in over 70 women-led startups, currently valued at over $2 billion collectively.

When reflecting on the sixth PitchHearst Lab event and the second iteration of Pitch HearstLab Texas, Eve Burton said, "the women we met today who pitched introduced to the world many next generation products and with the right support, they will make large profitable companies that have tremendous impact. I am proud of the six founders that were selected out of over 400 that applied to pitch here today. They are all going to achieve exceptional things."

Pitch HearstLab Texas was produced in partnership with the San Antonio Express-News as a part of San Antonio Startup Week. Ulta Beauty was the premier national sponsor and shared a special message of mission-alignment with Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Additional local sponsors & partners included Bridgethead IT, CodeUp, Microsoft, Geekdom, as well as in kind sponsors Supergoop!, heywell, and TÖST Beverages.

Pitch HearstLab will head next to New York City in Spring 2024, with additional US-based and international competitions on the horizon. Beyond pitch events, female founders can apply for HearstLab investment anytime (up to $1 million) throughout the year.

For more information, follow HearstLab on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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