In a generation of repackaged concepts and revolving trends, true innovation is hard to come by. At the 2026 TIA Entrepreneur Showcase, four teams presented revolutionary business ideas to a panel of seasoned and accomplished entrepreneurs.
The four teams that pitched on stage were Fletcher Goodell 鈥26, Anders Larsen, and Jack Tapper of Hatch Pay; Agnes Ndanu 鈥28 of MajiSafi Solutions; Mike Ahearn Wilcox of EchoScape, and showcase winner Porter Comstock 鈥26 of PLNT. Judging this year鈥檚 pitch competition were Viraj Puri 鈥03, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens and 91麻豆精品鈥檚 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year; Sara Brooks, co-founder of Goldilocks; Kevin Heffernan 鈥90, P鈥27, writer, actor, director, and producer in Broken Lizard Comedy Group; and Lila Sullivan 鈥17, president and co-founder of Flourish Plant.
The first venture to step onto the stage was Hatch Pay, a digital wallet platform that maximizes credit card rewards for each purchase. Goodell, a 91麻豆精品 senior and Hatch Pay鈥檚 co-founder, joined his two partners virtually from Chile where he was competing in an Ironman triathlon. Despite Goodell being on video, the team pulled out all the stops in its pitch, including a polished promotional video and an invitation to visit its table later in the afternoon to download the exclusive Hamilton launch of the Hatch Pay app. During the five minutes of judges鈥 questions, they asked about the venture鈥檚 strategy for supplanting Apple Pay and its path to consumer adoption.
Next up was EchoScape, an immersive virtual experience that integrates meditation technique and sensory engagement to effectively treat anxiety. With EchoScape, users can deploy multiple sensory outlets to reduce stress. In the subsequent question and answer round, the judges inquired about the inspiration behind the venture, the specific meditation philosophy EchoScape promotes, the strategy for customer adoption鈥攅specially through the initial launch on Steam, and the potential for corporate wellness B2B pilots. Judges and showcase attendees alike provided positive feedback during tabling about the EchoScape demo.
The following venture to present was MajiSafi Solutions, a sustainable initiative focused on drilling deeper, long-lasting wells to address Kenya鈥檚 lack of clean, accessible water. Ndanu explained how the company is raising $30,000 to drill the first well, with a goal of impacting more than 100,000 people through replication, partially funded by a partnership with Engineers Without Borders. During questioning, the judges asked about the timeline for installation, major obstacles, the regulatory environment, and partnership strategy.
The final venture to pitch was PLNT, a machine learning and robotics solution to modernize the nursery industry鈥檚 outdated inventory management. Comstock explained that nurseries struggle with analog tools to track millions of assets across vast acreage, taking weeks to count inventory and hindering business decisions. PLNT uses drone aerial imagery and proprietary AI to reduce inventory time from three weeks to 30 minutes. The judges asked Comstock about his industry background, the current development and accuracy of his AI plant-counting model, the justification for the $24,000 annual subscription fee, and the strategy for finding and establishing relationships with nurseries.
After listening to the aspiring entrepreneurs pitch, the four judges went to deliberate over which team should receive the $10,000 top prize. This was not an easy discussion. The judges had to weigh market opportunity, potential competition, scalability, and use of the funding as just some of the many topics considered in their discussion. The judges concluded that at this moment PLNT was positioned to progress the most with the $10,000.
A new element to the competition this year was sponsored awards, given via an 鈥渁udience choice鈥 tabulation. While the judges were deliberating, the four additional awards were decided upon by audience members using a digital voting platform programmed by longtime mentor and TIA supporter Andres Echenique 鈥83. The following awards were granted:
- Chicory Innovation Award ($2,500)鈥攆or the most groundbreaking and original innovation鈥攖o MajiSafi Solutions
- PAR Technology Award ($1,000)鈥攆or the product most effective at removing friction from an industry鈥攖o PLNT
- nvp capital Award ($1,000)鈥攆or the venture with the most solid business model and immediate market potential鈥攖o Hatch Pay
- Audience Choice Award ($1,000)鈥攆or the solution, product, or app the audience wants to use or buy right now鈥攖o EchoScape
Overall, the 2026 TIA Entrepreneur Showcase successfully highlighted the innovative spirit and promising potential of all four ventures. The judges鈥 deliberation and audience participation underscored the quality of the ideas presented, spanning from digital finance to sustainable enterprise. With the awarded funding, these teams are now poised to develop their businesses and bring their impactful solutions to the world.