On September 4, 245 people attended the fourth Pitch Elk Grove competition, five times the number at the first event and double the number from last year.  It is now one of the biggest in the area.  Nine finalists presented their ventures to a panel of judges that included investors and business leaders from across the region, all MC’d by the high-energy JDM of Right Box. Companies competed for $20,000 in total prize money.  There were two clean tech companies among the nine finalists, Resolv and Soar Optics.

Rocklin-based IGH Naturals (Rich Foreman) won the top prize earning $10,000 for its Humolyte electrolyte product designed to help chemotherapy patients avoid severe treatment side effects.

EnlitenAI (Himanshu Misra) of Tracy won second place and received $5,000 for its artificial intelligence–driven clinical decision support tool for neurology care. Third place went to Sacramento-based Rely (Heather Rankow), which was awarded $2,500 for its one-click renter data sharing platform. The $2,500 award for Best Elk Grove Startup went to Soar Optics (Steve Barnett), which is developing technology to detect microplastics more efficiently and more economically.

Sam Ruderman, CEO of Resolv, made a good presentation of his app to assist builders and developers claim energy rebates more easily, making their projects more attractive to buyers.  We expect to see Sam back in future competitions.

The City of Elk Grove created Pitch Elk Grove in 2022 to showcase the region’s growing startup community. In addition to the competition, the city has launched programs such as the Startup Elk Grove Incentive Program and the Economic Development Incentive Program to provide entrepreneurs with technical support, financial resources, and site selection assistance. 

CleanStart is presenting its Showcase of Rising Stars on October 22 at Aggie Square, starting at 2 pm.  Be sure to mark your calendars for this event.  We will have ten companies presenting, all who have a shot at becoming a significant growth engine in the region.