Winner ‘humbled’ by support of Sharks and audience
Over 400 people attended the event, which was hosted by JCA's Jumpstart.
COMMUNITY Health Support (CHS) executive director Jesse Lenn was grateful just to pitch at this year’s Shark Tank event, let alone see the organisation crowned the overall winner.
Over 400 people attended last Sunday’s event, hosted by JCA’s Jumpstart, and with over $60,000 in prize money, it attracted over 16 applicants, with five making it to the final pitching round.
CHS was declared the winner by this year’s adjudicating panel – Nick Molnar, Peter Ivany, Zara Seidler and Andrew Banks – and they also took home the People’s Choice Award.
Lenn emphasised the importance of CHS’s mission to empower our community with confidence in a first aid emergency.
“We were all very grateful to be chosen to pitch at Shark Tank,” Lenn told The AJN.
“Being a newer organisation in the community that’s still getting moving and continuing to get traction, it was really important for us not only to receive the money, but to be able to stand up in front of a large proportion of the community and spread our mission.
“It was of course a great addition for us to receive the money and we were very humbled that we were able to receive both the award from the sharks and also from the audience. That was very exciting for us – it shows that people clearly believe in our mission and that provides us with a lot of confidence and great satisfaction.”
Second place went to MedEarth’s Laura Taitz and Cayley Smith, who passionately articulated their mission to help protect the natural environment by working with a range of partners to recover usable medical supplies that hospitals no longer want and which would otherwise be destined for landfill.
Arula’s Stephanie Weiss was delighted to receive support from Molnar, who committed to funding Arula with a $10,000 injection to support the development of the next phase of the business that makes custom prosthetics for breast cancer patients.
Abrahams Tent and J Combinator also pitched on the night and received commitments of support from several people in attendance.
“Our community is rich in dynamic and forward-thinking ideas, powered by the spirit of entrepreneurship,” said JCA CEO Alain Hasson.
“I know each and every one of these organisations have amazing potential to play a crucial evolutionary role in our communal landscape, and wish them all success in the future.”
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