Regional Pitch Competition
Get ready to showcase your company and its IMPACT!
Join Our Virtual Watch Party!
Join us on Zoom to meet 13 entrepreneurs, hear their pitches and give them the enthusiastic virtual cheering section they deserve. Cameras and applause emojis are highly encouraged!
They’ll bring their best pitches.
Let’s bring them a great audience!
Date: Friday, September 18
Time: 10 a.m. to noon ET
Location: Zoom
Watch party price: Free
Register to Attend
Meet Our Pitch Contestants
The stage is set for the 2026 WBEC Florida Regional Pitch Competition! We’re excited to introduce the entrepreneurs who will be bringing their best pitches. These business owners will take the virtual stage to showcase an exciting mix of products and services while they compete for the opportunity to advance in the WBENCPitch national competition.
Meet Our Pitch Judges
These professionals will help determine who goes forward in the competition, using WBENC's criteria and their own experience in the business world:
- Johanna Bratslavsky, Manager, Global Supplier Diversity, CHEP
- Arati Batta, Retired, Federal Reserve Bank; and WBEC FL Board
- Buffy Butler, Managing Director, NEXTAFF of S. Florida; and WBEC FL Board
- Tonja Graham, Supplier Diversity Manager, Duke Energy
- Keith McDuffie, Procurement Manager, VyStar Credit Union
Watch the Recording of Our Informational Session
In this video, we walk you through the requirements and timelines for participating in the pitch competition series. We also offer tips for preparing yourself for the virtual stage so you can smile and enjoy the excitement of pitching your products or services!
Watch the Video
The 2026 WBEC Florida Regional Pitch Competition serves as a qualifying round for the National WBENC Semi-Finals.
WBENCPitch is a signature WBENC program featuring a series of educational sessions and pitch competitions to help WBEs hone their business pitch, gain meaningful exposure, and compete for grants and other prizes to invest in their business.
The 2026 WBENCPitch IMPACT competition is focused on storytelling and impact. In this ever-changing business landscape, it is critical now more than ever for business owners to effectively communicate beyond their capabilities or the problems they solve.
The competition will feature two separate categories: Products and Services. Each category will award two (2) winners.
1. First Place: $20,000
2. Runner Up: Complimentary registration to the 2027 WBENC National Conference
Perfect Your Pitch with These Prep Sessions
WBENC is offering these prep sessions, all from noon to 2 p.m. Eastern:
July 16 | Define Your Story
July 30 | Get in the Hot Seat
Aug 13 | Define Your Impact
Sept 11 | Get in the Hot Seat | REGISTER
How the Competition Works:
FIRST ROUND: IMPACT YOUR AUDIENCE
The first round includes a one-minute (60-second) pitch and 3 minutes of Q&A from the judges in front of a live virtual audience at the WBEC Florida level.
This takes place at the regional level, so you'll be pitching to judges with WBEC Florida. You will use storytelling techniques to clearly describe who you are and what youre business does. The key is to deliver your message in a way that creates memorable and lasting IMPACT on both the judges and the audience.
You will pitch before a panel of judges who will select 5 contestants to go to the Second Round: 2 product businesses, 2 service businesses, and the 2026 WBE Star.
First Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch make a memorable IMPACT and leave the audience wanting more information?
SECOND ROUND: ELEVATE YOUR IMPACT
The second round includes a 90-second pitch and a one-question Q&A from the audience during a live virtual event at the national level.
You must elaborate on either the metric-driven or mission-driven impact your business creates.
Semi-Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch highlight the company’s meaningful or measurable impact?
FINAL ROUND: HONE YOUR IMPACT
In the final round, you will spotlight one IMPACT category, in a 2-minute pitch and a 2-minute Q&A with the judges in a live virtual event at the national level.
In the IMPACT category you choose, you must illustrate meaningful and measurable examples of how your company has created and continues to create powerful and lasting impact.
Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch clearly define and elaborate on one specific IMPACT category?
Pitch Criteria
Interested in competing? You must meet the following criteria:
- Submit an entry video to apply. The video must be no longer than 1 minute. Longer videos will be disqualified.
- Submit a one-page capabilities statement.
- Focus the pitch on communicating the company’s story in a creative and compelling way.
- Pitch an existing product, service or business solution that is currently in the market or ready for market (not a future idea or endeavor).
- Must be a WBENC Certified WBE whose certification is in good standing.
- Must be a female owner of the company.
- If the solution is the result of a joint venture between multiple WBE companies, or if the business has more than one female owner, the application must be submitted on behalf of only one of the WBE companies or owners. Only one WBE will be permitted to pitch in each round, and it will need to be the same WBE in each round.
Judges' Scoring Criteria
Here is a comparison of the scoring criteria judges will use for each round of the competition leading up to the final choices of WBENC Pitch Competition winners. Note that the first four criteria stay the same throughout, while the fifth element, impact, changes with each round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the judges?
What are the deadlines?
What are the criteria for the pitch?
Application Requirements
How long is the pitch video?
How do I submit my pitch video?
Resources
Check out these books and links to help you prepare for your pitch.
TedEx Talk: The elevator speech is out of order: Michelle Golden at TEDxCitadelPark
Click on Book Cover to learn more about that title.
