Meet the winners of St. Pete Pitch Night

Inside 3 Daughters Brewing Co.’s St. Pete brewhouse, patrons, investors and entrepreneurs filled the room with all eyes projected on the stage for the annual St. Pete Pitch Night competition. 

The event, hosted by the St. Pete Greenhouse Tuesday evening, focuses on showcasing, elevating and seeding community-based businesses through a pitch competition among selected entrepreneurs for a chance to win $5,000. 

Meet the presenting entrepreneurs and awardees: 

Steve Schindehette, founder of ARackAbove: He was the top winner, receiving the $5,000 prize money. 

Xaviar Gray, founder of Tech and Flow Ventures: He was the audience choice winner, receiving a $500 award. 

Joleyn Carriveau, founder of Home Dental to You. 

Veronica Morejon, founder of Planet vs People. 

Gabe Caldwell, co-founder of Addio. 

The panel of judges included Copley Gerdes, a St. Petersburg city council member and growth and development director at Northwestern Mutual; Corey McCaster, division director of small business and supplier diversity at the Pinellas County Economic Development; Stephen Ponzillo, vice president and community relations officer at Regions Financial Corp; and Danielle Findley, president and CEO of St. Petersburg-based Florida Print Solutions Inc. 

More about the companies that pitched: 

Steve Schindehette of ARackAbove pitching.

ARackAbove: The company, founded in Orlando, says it has “the only portable, overhead garage storage rack in the world that reduces your clutter.” The rack is lightweight and does not require drilling, yet it is engineered to hold up to 2,000 pounds and has a T-bar for support. Schindehette said his target audience is typically in the 39-72 age range. The company launched during the Covid-19 pandemic and manufactures its product in Lakeland. This year, the company had $59,000 in sales and is on track to reach $250,000 in sales in 2023. The costs for customers range from $1,700 to $2,500; however, the product holds more weight than a traditional rack.

Xaviar Gray of Tech and Flow Ventures receives the audience choice award.

Tech and Flow Ventures: The fintech company, based in St. Petersburg, developed a software platform that’s dedicated to educating and empowering young professions to build wealth by tracking their investments and decisions. Gray said if he won the $5,000, he would have invested it into developing a newsletter campaign and product visual to drive more traffic to his website. 

Home Dental to You: Carriveau, a veteran dental hygienist, created a mobile dental program offering dental services in someone’s home. The startup alleviates the common anxiety people experience in a dentist’s office. It also serves customers who are immobile or have difficulty commuting to their dentist’s office.The service is used for dental exams and teeth whitening for all ages. Advanced services such as crowns, root canals and fillings are not offered through the mobile solution. The service is also available for corporations. The at-home dental care company accepts Aetna, Cigna, Florida Blue, United Healthcare, Met Life, Guardian and Liberty dental (PPO plans). It serves Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee counties. Carriveau said if she won the grand prize, she would hire more team members and extend services to those who cannot afford dental care. She has been providing mobile dentistry for over 20 years. 

Planet vs People: The company turns clothes into compost. The company focuses on eliminating clothing waste by manufacturing shirts that are compostable and do not end up in a landfill. Morejon has studied microplastic pollution in St. Petersburg and has largely worked in environmental causes with accredited climate organizations and marine conservations such as The Florida Aquarium, Anna Maria Turtle Watch and others. If the company had won the grand prize, Morejon said, it would have invested $500 for supplies, $500 to help complete the patent processing, $1,000 dedicated to innovation and $3,000 for manufacturing needs.  

Addio: The company developed a digital end-of-life planning software that guides families through a plan from the convenience of their own home via the app. The company launched last week. Caldwell manages Addio’s partner program made up of financial advisors, estate attorneys and home care professionals. The software allows the user to share their plan with other users. The goal is to digitalize information and make it easily accessible to update. For individuals, the costs for the use of the software is $199; it is $299 for couples.