PROVIDENCE – Retail MarketPoint Inc. was voted the winner of Cox Business’ seventh annual Get Started Rhode Island business pitch contest held Wednesday night at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence.
Based in Westerly, Retail MarketPoint is a real estate technology company specializing in site location analytics and evaluation of commercial space for retail locations or concepts. The team will receive $50,000 in prizes, including $25,000 in cash for being selected for its pitch. The winnings include a featured article in PBN. Retail Marketpoint was pitched by founder John Rafferty.
The “People Choice” winner of the event was Uproot Inc., a company that produces plant-based milks and distributes them to institutional settings such as university cafeterias. The team will receive $5,000 in cash for being selected. The company, based in Warren, was pitched by Jacob Conway and Kevin Eve, co-founders of Uproot.
Pitches were evaluated by five panelists: Shannon Shallcross, CEO and co-founder of BetaXAnalyitcs LLC; Karl Wadensten, CEO and president of VIBCO Vibrators; Arnell Millhouse, CEO and co-founder of CareerDevs Computer Science University; and Patrice M. Milos, CEO, president and co-founder of Medley Genomics Inc., the winner of the Get Started Rhode Island competition in 2018.
“We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2019 Get Started Rhode Island startup competition, with yet another world-class crop of exciting early-stage companies competing for the top prize,” said Ross Nelson, vice president of Cox Business. “Cox Business looks forward to seeing firsthand the impact these exceptional entrepreneurs will have both locally and on a global stage.”
The event was moderated by Mike Ritz, executive director of Leadership Rhode Island.
Other competitors in the pitch contest were Biotica Bio, Furrfighters LLC, NetQter and Tank Vision LLC.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
