19 February 2021 Pitch 2021 to be Livestreamed

This years finalists in the 2021 Todd Feldman '89 and Family Pitch Contest will present their ideas for an innovative company or nonprofit to a virtual audience on March 4 at 7 p.m.

Five student entrepreneurs have advanced to the final round of the Todd Feldman '89 and Family Pitch Contest. This years contestants have developed unique businesses and organizations geared toward solving todays most pressing challenges. Their products and services will address the environment and climate action, community belonging and political enfranchisement.


Hobart and William Smith also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the competition, coordinated by the Centennial Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

To celebrate the anniversary, this years judges are all past contestants. Ato Bentsi-Enchil '17, Mattie Mead '13, Sam Solomon '17 and Sara Wroblewski '13 have each founded entrepreneurial ventures in their post-graduate careers. They will tune in remotely from Accra, Ghana, Ketchum, Idaho, Geneva, N.Y. and Boston, Mass., respectively.

The finalists, who include three individuals and one partner team, will pitch their ideas live from the Seneca Room to a virtual audience on Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m.

Pitch Finalists

This years finalists and their proposals include:

Jack Fell '21 presents Grassroots Partnerships. Using a 3-step model, the company provides community-based policy solutions as an alternative to traditional methods of passing policy. The model can be applied to communities facing a variety of local policy problems.

Alexandria Knipper '21 returns to the Pitch stage for the second year in a row. She presents CANadapt, a multilingual online community that strategically connects cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers who have common characteristics and needs.

Meghan McKenna '21 and Marie Charlotte Carrau '21 present Re-Thread. This textile recycling company produces sustainable thread out of used and unwanted clothing. ReThreads mission is to reduce waste and carbon emissions in the fashion industry.

Matthew Nusom '23 presents SymBIO Designs a suite of products that provide sustainable solutions for everyday products. SymBIO Designs bridges the gap between good-intentioned humans and broken systems to better the environment, institutions and communities.

The photo at the top of the article features Nicole Wright '20 after winning the Pitch in 2020.