Wilmington-based startup Boreas Monitoring Solutions presented Thursday at the Big Launch Challenge, a pitch competition in Durham that connects entrepreneurs and angel investors presented by The Launch Place, winning first place and $10,000. 

The event offered entrepreneurship workshops throughout the day in addition to the pitch competition. The Launch Place selected 10 early-stage companies to pitch to a panel of six judges that represent investors from across the country. 

After the 10 companies pitched to investors, The Launch Place awarded first place and $10,000 to Boreas Monitoring Solutions, and second place to Durham-based e-commerce insights company TROMML, which received $5,000. 

"It sounded like a pretty amazing opportunity to share my story in front of angel investors from around the country," said Boreas Monitoring Solutions's founder and CEO Will Baird. 

Boreas Monitoring Solutions is a biotech research company that patented a weight-based system for monitoring liquid nitrogen tanks, commonly used with in vitro fertilization. Baird presented on behalf of his company.

Although the chosen companies come from anywhere in the U.S., the majority are from North Carolina. The companies selected for the pitching event range from biotech businesses, like Boreas Monitoring Solutions, to e-commerce software to AI platforms.  

Boreas Monitoring Solutions is the only company out of Wilmington that presented at the event. Click here to see the full list of presenters. 

Each company got eight minutes to pitch their startup, followed by a five-minute question and answer session from the judges. 
                                                                                          
The Launch Place arranges the annual event in collaboration with The Angel Capital Association (ACA) and Ann and Bill Payne ACA Angel University, an online workshop for entrepreneurs. The Launch Place operates out of southern Virginia and promotes an “idea-based entrepreneurship ecosystem,” according to its website. 

“The goal of the Big Launch Challenge is to provide early-stage startups the opportunity to pitch their ideas to investors and for The Launch Place Pre-Seed and Seed Fund to generate deal flow,” The Launch Place President and CEO Eva Doss said in a release. 

“Every year it is a different experience, with different business ideas and founding teams,” she said. “We are very excited to host the competition in person again and to hear the thought-provoking pitches.”