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On Thursday, December 2, members of the third cohort of Element 46, Westchester County's premiere incubator program, participated in a Pitch Day. During the event, each of the participating startups had the opportunity to sell themselves to four investors from Westchester Angels.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: "Element 46 is a staple in Westchester's entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are proud to support these local entrepreneurs as they work to scale their ventures and giving them an opportunity to connect with potential investors is an integral part of that process."

Westchester County Office of Economic Development Director Bridget Gibbons said: "Supporting a cohort of entrepreneurs who all shared a focus on leveraging technology to advance their mission and vision allowed us to tailor the education and mentorship to their needs. It also provided an opportunity for participants to pitch their venture to a group of relevant angel investors."

Deborah Novick, Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Westchester County Office of Economic Development, said: "Since our third cohort launched, each member has refined and honed their concept to lay the foundation for optimal success. It has been a pleasure to work alongside these entrepreneurs for the past 19 weeks and we look forward to seeing how they apply their learnings from Element 46 to advance their businesses."

Special thanks go out to four members of Westchester Angels who participated in Element 46's first ever pitch day. Among the angel investors watching pitch presentations and providing tips for future engagement with investors were Sandy Wollman, Rick Wollman, Andrew Kabatchnick, and Ken Kristal.

The participants in Element 46's third cohort were:

Andre Peart, Founder and CEO of ConConnect, has developed the first professional social network and software tool geared at advancing the formerly incarcerated and modernizing the Reentry Industry. It also offers a unique experience for fair chance employers to engage and get to know justice-impacted individuals, prior to hiring them. Of note, Mr. Peart has been accepted into the pilot cohort of the Impact Ventures Competition and to the next cohort of ACT-Tulsa for ConConnect.

Daniel Letizia, Co-Founder of IHP Safety, is developing safety software to help employers maintain safe workplaces, by identifying risks, monitoring and documenting compliance, and ensuring that the personnel or visitors on site are qualified and healthy. IHP currently offers Covid Health Management, including corporate testing and HIPAA vaccine information management.

Hugh Wilmot, Co-Founder of Awareia, is leveraging next generation Secure QR-Code scanning technology to enable lost items to be quickly reunited with their owner.

Jake Cutler, Founder of Ampli-fi.io, has developed a tool to streamline and automate the process of providing equipment financing quotes, helping equipment resellers be more responsive to customers, shorten sales cycles, and better manage the customer channel.

Lisbeth Baez, Founder of Parkey, is developing a mobile application to aggregate on-street parking activity in real-time for residential city drivers, which will seamlessly coordinate on-street parking swaps between drivers leaving a parking space, and drivers looking for a space to park. Drivers will engage with an incentivized leaderboard to create on-street parking community mobility and reliability.

Scott Tannenbaum, Founder of MYZE, is developing a digital health platform designed to help people identify, treat and manage their dry eyes. MYZE will screen for Dry Eye Disease and/or Digital Eye Strain, deliver personalized treatment plans, and provide access to products, services, educational resources and a dedicated dry eye community. Additionally, MYZE will provide daily inspiration, nudges and reminders that will effectively help patients and their providers manage and support ongoing dry eye treatment.

Members of the third Element 46 cohort were matched with hand-picked mentors who are leaders in technology, finance, business strategy, venture capital, marketing or other key areas. Participants benefited from access to a group of dedicated professional service providers, including accountants and IP attorneys, who provide pro bono services to cohort members.

Element 46 will be accepting applications for and launching its fourth cohort in 2022. To learn more, visit: Element46.org.

Element 46 incubator provides training, mentoring and free workspace, to enable startups to develop their businesses within a network of peers. Entrepreneurs are embedded in an existing start-up community within Westchester. To learn more, visit Element46.org.

About The Westchester County Office of Economic Development

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County's economic well-being and quality of life. This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For information, visit https://westchestercatalyst.com/.

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