Winners of Austin's 2021 [Re]Verse Pitch Competition Announced

(City of Austin press release)

Austin, TX – The City of Austin, in partnership with Austin Young Chamber and the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development, announced the winners of the annual [RE]verse Pitch Competition, a program aimed at reducing waste in Austin through innovation and design. This year’s winners, known as Innovation Fellows, developed business ideas using another businesses’ ‘waste’. The Innovation Fellows will receive prizes valued up to $8,500, and participate in a four-month accelerator program to develop their ideas.

This year’s Innovation Fellows are:

Plant Baxter by Jordan Smith, Coleman Counihan and Daniel Barrios
Plant Baxter plans to create container gardens using unwanted large plastic sacks from Austin Eastciders and reclaimed wood from the construction industry.

DV Designs by Vincent Marsella and Deepak Chandra
DV Designs plans to create beverage coasters using spent grain from Fierce Whiskers Distillery.

Biochar Filter Socks by Petey Peterson and Seth Nyer
Locoal, an existing Austin-area company, plans to create ‘wattle socks,’ which help prevent soil erosion and capture toxins from storm-water runoff, using spent grain from Fierce Whiskers Distillery and used wooden pallets.

Lolas Classic Babies by Lolita Rodriguez and Lucero Valle Archuleta
Lolas Classic Babies, a woman-owned baby brand in Austin, plans to create bow ties using unwanted fabric decorator samples from Austin Creative Reuse.

During the virtual accelerator program, each team will receive mentorship, training, and community support while they further develop their circular business idea. The accelerator will culminate in the teams presenting these ideas to a cohort of investors as part of the City’s inaugural Circular Austin showcase on July 28, 2021.

This year’s [RE]verse Pitch Competition started on Feb. 2 at the virtual opening pitch event. Over the course of several weeks, competitors attended virtual workshops and worked with program mentors before submitting their business ideas to the competition. All submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges and selected based on equal scoring criteria.

The [RE]verse Pitch Competition is a collaboration between the City of Austin, Austin Young Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development with additional support from a wide variety of community partners. Learn more at ReversePitch.org.

See this press release on City of Austin website.