Two local start-ups got a big boost thanks to the first-ever Piedmont Pitch Night, an event that capped off a 10-week program sponsored by the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center and the offices of economic development in both Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

“We had over 70 people who applied for the program,” said Shira Goldeen, event planner for CVSBA. “We did the business essentials training, which goes through all of the steps of launching a business and having a great foundation.”

Six finalists from the class were invited to present their pitches at the public event, held at The Wool Factory on Thursday, May 11. 

The $10,000 top prize was awarded to Gabriela Romo for her clothing recycling company Refemme.

“There is a shocking amount of pounds of clothing that every person throws away every year,” Goldeen told Charlottesville Right Now in an interview before the event. “Her goal is to repurpose things, so she works with individual clients to either alter and recreate existing clothing or just do alterations on articles of clothing that people have that they don’t wear because it just doesn’t quite fit.”

The pitch night’s runner-up, awarded $5,000, is Philip Rich’s Black Rose Landscaping, whose website promises “reasonable, yet reliable service that always exceeds our customers expectations.”

The other businesses competing in the pitch night were Anne Perkins, founder of Konnect Apps; Johnny Epps, founder of Odyssey Chocolates; Christina Martin, founder of Baker no Bakery; and Kristopher Chain, founder of Season Report.

The prize money was provided by the city and county’s offices of economic development and the Community Investment Collaborative. The Wool Factory donated space for the event, while First Citizens Bank sponsored the food and Sound Around LLC provided audio equipment and engineering.

Click here for the full interview with Shira Goldeen.