Bittylab enchanted a panel of judges on a pitch competition hosted by Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC) in Westchester, NY. Taking the first place among five contestants.

Priska Diaz, M.S. Founder and CEO of Bittylab, told her story of humbled beginnings at her kitchen table as she grew Bittylab into a multi-million dollar company. Among the panel of qualified judges were: Gilda Bonanno, Founder at Gilda Bonanno, LLC.; Joe Markey, Market President, Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Sales Leader at KeyBank; Marcia Pflug, Director at Westfair Communications; and Ginger Siegel, North America Small Business Lead at Mastercard International. The tough judges evaluated the pitches and based their decision on problem & market opportunity; solution & customers; business model/value proposition; traction, team & next steps; and overall quality of delivery in addition to having a business plan plus two-year projections.

WEDC winner
Upper picture, Left to right: Priska Diaz, Bittylab; Sylvia Herzog, WEDC; Susanne Shoemaker, Undercare; Ginger Siegel, Mastercard; Marcia Pflug, Westfair Communications; Gilda Bonanno, Gilda Bonanno LLC.

As a second phase, Bittylab was entered into the ‘Barracudas’ battle at digital pitching event, a video submission competition. The top-10-submitted videos were selected and public votes helped select the finalist. This event was hosted by Westfair Communication to recognize “barracudas,” or early-stage businesses, that have learned to navigate the rough waters of the business environment.

Bittylab is a barracuda winner

About Bittylab, makers of Bare® Air-free feeding system:
Priska Diaz, M.S. is the inventor of Bare® Air-free feeding system, a healthier alternative to baby bottles. With pioneer pediatric technology, Bare® feeds the baby AIR-FREE milk, while in UPRIGHT and lets baby CONTROL the FLOW/PACE of feeding. The combination of these major advancements is clinically proven to significantly reduce GERD symptoms. Currently, in the process of regulatory compliance, Bare® aims to become the gold standard for treatment and prevention of infant GERD.

About WEDC:
The Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC), a 501(c)(3) corporation, has been empowering women entrepreneurs to build successful small businesses since 1997 in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley. This is accomplished by providing comprehensive, high quality business training programs, one-on-one business and loan counseling, networking opportunities, assistance with loan applications for microloans and crowd funding through Kiva Zip, and MWBE certification assistance in English and Spanish. WEDC’s overarching goal is to build a vibrant community of women business owners, comprised of start-up and established companies.

About Westfair Communications:
Westfair Business Publications (Westfair), a privately held publishing firm located in White Plains, N.Y., publishes weekly business newspapers: the Westchester County Business Journal in combination with HV Biz (Hudson Valley Business) in New York state and the Fairfield County Business Journal in Connecticut.