Five local entrepreneurs to pitch their startups for a chance to win $5,000 in cash prize
St. Pete Pitch Night was designed to focus on showcasing, elevating and seeding community-based businesses. See the trajectory of the St. Pete start-up scene, be a part of the next great idea and take-home inspiration from the most creative minds in the city. These entrepreneurs need to be celebrated for what they have already accomplished and recognized for where they are heading.
St. Pete’s entrepreneurial community will be celebrated while cheering on a friendly competition between five selected entrepreneurs for $5,000 in prize money. Each participant will be given six minutes for their pitch and a ten minute question and answer session. Audience members will have an opportunity to vote for
Join The Greenhouse and community partners on December 1, 2021 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at 3 Daughters Brewing for a night of entertainment, entrepreneurship and competition. Don’t miss out on a fun and effective opportunity to make a connection and hear ideas in a city that fosters and supports a strong entrepreneurial community!
Meet the Pitches
HILLARY VAN DYKE, CO-FOUNDER
GREEN BOOK OF TAMPA BAY
With over a decade of experience as an educator, ensuring a future for the lives of Black youth is a passion of Hillary Van Dyke’s. While pursuing her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida- St Petersburg, she became especially interested in achieving educational equity. Since then, she worked as a Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (JEDI) practitioner training people from a variety of sectors on bias and racism and consulting with businesses in their JEDI efforts. She is also the co-founder of the Green Book of Tampa Bay, host of Podcast Pedagogy, a volunteer leader of Outdoor Afro, a certified yoga instructor, and the CEO of Invincible Summer Enterprises. Due to her engagement in local history work, Hillary was inspired to pursue a doctorate in social sciences curriculum and instruction at the University of South Florida and is currently engaged in that work.
MELODY MENDOZA-AUSLANDER, OWNER/FOUNDER
LA BETRI by FILI-PIÑA
Melody serves as the Founder and Owner of La Betri by Fili-Piña. She graduated from the University of the Philippines, where she received a BA in education. She also holds a master’s degree in Special Education and Behavior Analysis. As a former school principal, Melody found a new sense of purpose and yearning to inspire others in a new way-this time through her passion for fashion. Inspired by her love for fitness and active lifestyle, Melody launched a campaign to create stylish and functional clothes that make life’s journey better.
TAMIA KENEDY, FOUNDER
BLACK ON THE SCENE
Black On The Scene was founded by Tamia, a 25 year old entrepreneur who was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a recent graduate from Florida State University, Kennedy found it incredibly difficult obtaining jobs in the production field alongside many of her peers. Rather than continuing to be told no, Kennedy created Black On The Scene, to guarantee job opportunities for black creatives. This multimedia production company develops content for film, tv, and all digital platforms, while curating specific teams tailored to meet clients needs. Whether it be content development, hiring, casting, scripting, budgeting, or planning and logistics, the B.O.T.S team has got you covered.
HEATHER HAMAR
THE MAR ST PETE
Heather has been singing since she was a little girl. She sought an intensive degree program for Musical Theatre at Sam Houston State University where she received training for all aspects of Theatre. Lighting and sound design, costuming, singing, acting, dancing, directing, music theory, to name a few. While still performing professionally, she received her BFA with a Dance Minor after only 4 years. After graduating she secured an immediate job performing professionally at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia. That job led her to the Tampa, Florida Busch Gardens where she performed and then managed for over 10 years. She started as a performer and climbed the ladder to an Event Project Manager for one of the biggest Christmas events in Central Florida; Christmas Town at Busch Gardens. Her next big career move was when she accepted an Install Production Manager role with Norwegian Cruise Line where she installed new shows on 5 NCL luxury ships. She worked several contracts there from 2016 to 2019. Now Heather opened her very own Performing Arts Incubator called the The MAR St. Pete. Opening this brand new business in the middle of a pandemic brought so many challenges, but along with those challenges, brought so many areas of growth! Heather continues as a freelance performer, event & wedding coordinator, CEO, and artistic visionary.
APRIL CALDWELL, CO-FOUNDER/CEO
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