10 founders took the stage at Endeavor Miami’s 2025 Startup Pitch Competition. And the winners were …
Innovation was in the spotlight at The Lab Miami on Thursday, June 5, where 10 entrepreneurs took the stage to pitch their startups to a crowd of investors, mentors, Endeavor Entrepreneurs, and key tech players during Endeavor Miami’s 2025 Pitch Competition.
Their goal? Practice their skills in front of a live panel of judges and audience, while taking home the ultimate prize: Delta travel credits, free coworking memberships, mentorship opportunities, and a network of advisors, mentors, and potential investors.
“We believe that pitch competitions really bring the community together, because we convene a group of not only great entrepreneurs to pitch, but also investors and partners to support the founders that are pitching,” said Claudia Duran, managing director at Endeavor Miami and regional managing director for North America. “The energy in the room is unmatched – everyone is talking to each other, and whenever mentors hear the word ‘pitch’ they immediately think, ‘how can I support the founders?’”
Endeavor Miami’s 2025 Pitch Competition saw more than 90 applicants, and 25 semi-finalists were selected to move forward. From there, 10 finalists were selected for a group coaching session led by the Endeavor Miami team, where they refined their five-minute pitches ahead of presenting to a panel of judges that included Sarah Hippert, vice president of commercial banking at J.P. Morgan, Laura Gaviria Halaby, a private investor and startup advisor, and Ayal Stern, co-founder of The LAB Miami.
“One of the key components of the pitch competition is giving the founders exposure to the community,” Duran said. “It’s a lot of work to pitch, so we help them get to that 5-minute pitch. It’s so important to have a good pitch, because you never know who is going to be in the room, or who you’re going to meet. Our pitch competition is definitely a staple event for Endeavor Miami.”
After an hour of pitching, the judges took time to deliberate on the top three pitches and startups.
And, after careful deliberation, the winners were … drumroll please …
- First place: Real Grader, founded by Alex Montalenti, is a digital marketing system for real estate and sales professionals that measures, manages, and maximizes their digital presence through a digital business card, website integrations with social media and customer relationship management systems, and AI-powered content creation and content scaling. Real Grader follows a SaaS revenue model through recurring subscriptions, with over 40,000 subscriptions to-date. The company has achieved $2 million in annual recurring revenue, with a total revenue of $4 million.
“My mom was my inspiration behind Real Grader – she had a beautiful life in Romania, but during communism in 1968, they occupied her house. My grandmother was smart and they came to America, where my mom got a job as a real estate agent, working really hard to pay the bills and raise two kids,” Montalenti said. “In the year 2000, I came home from college and saw her crying because she didn’t know computers. So, I helped her with digital marketing, and because of that, we sold a property and made an $80,000 commission check – that’s when I knew there was a niche for digital marketing for real estate professionals and salespeople.”
- Second Place: 1PLTFRM, founded by Isidro Fernandez, aims to establish Miami as a “hub for private market investing for non-US investors.” The platform focuses on Latin America and uses AI to automate 12 steps in the investment process, enhancing client engagement and post-sale experiences by simplifying things like meeting room booking, collaboration, and task delegation.
- Third Place: Meet Betsi, founded by Sergio Hernandez, is a healthcare platform that addresses caregiver training with love, clarity, and care. The inspiration for his business came from his 27-year-old sister, Betsy, who was born with cerebral palsy, SYNGAP1 disorder, and epilepsy. Through Meet Betsi, caregivers start with an onboarding call with the patient expert (usually a parent or guardian), then, they’ll get trained on how to film, edit, and upload their care tasks into the Meet Betsi platform, where they’ll have a medical professional review the content for feedback. Afterwards, training is launched so that caregivers feel prepared.
Meet the rest of the entrepreneurs who pitched at Endeavor Miami’s 2025 Pitch Competition:
- Sebastian Mourra, founder of Alphana.ai, an autonomous AI content manager that turns video into 30+ pieces of content.
- Ricardo Pero, founder of Cadenna, a digital platform that modernizes supply chain finance.
- Maykel De Cespedes, founder of Dingdoor, which offers all home services within one application.
- Shir Ibgui, founder of Globe THRIVERS, an AI-driven platform that personalizes trip planning.
- Alexandra Baker, founder of In the Kitchen with Alexandra, providing home cooks with premium West Indian condiments.
- Tamar Sapir, founder of Synchronyx, which simplifies medication management with remote therapeutic monitoring technology.
- Ramiro Roballos, founder of Tukki, a platform that helps the U.S. immigrant journey with automation and transparency.
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Krysten Brenlla is the Media Relations Specialist for Jackson Health System, where she manages media relations for the health system’s cardiology, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, and Miami Transplant Institute service lines. Prior to her role at Jackson, Krysten worked at Florida International University as an Account Manager for FIU’s Office of Engagement. In 2022, Krysten obtained her master’s degree in Global Strategic Communication from FIU.
