What an unforgettable Friday at the Little Village x Pilsen Pitch Competition hosted at Food He.ro/26th St Cafe! 🎉
This event brought together talented Latinx founders to showcase their businesses and compete for a total prize pool of $37,500. The day was filled with inspiration, innovation, and a deep sense of community.
A huge congratulations to Ivan Aguirre, founder of Trinum Apps, for winning the 1st place prize of $25,000! We’re incredibly excited to be part of your journey and can’t wait to see what’s next for you.
The competition featured incredible pitches from all five founders, including Mayra Khan, Daniel Montes, Katia Tamara, and Marco Alcala, each demonstrating the passion and innovation that will drive their businesses forward.
We want to give a heartfelt thank you to the Inicio team Jorge M. Calderon, Monica Martens, Elvia Perez, and Jacob (Jake) Lefker, MBA whose support made this event possible, and we are so grateful to have received one of their Community Awards for advancing the Latinx ecosystem. Congratulations to Javier Haro of Food He.ro and Nico Aguilar of Speeko — A.I. Speech Coach for also receiving community awards!
Inicio presented a community award to the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer for the incredible work they are doing through the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund (ILGIF). Established by Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, this $1.5 billion impact investment fund focuses on attracting, assisting, and retaining quality technology-enabled businesses in Illinois through targeted investments with venture capital, growth equity, and private credit firms connected to the state. Thank you to Treasurer Frerichs for welcoming attendees to the event and accepting the award.
A huge thank you to Javier Haro of FoodHe.ro for providing such a welcoming and vibrant space for us to gather. Special thanks to our insightful judges Alejandra (Alex) Garza, Caroline Sanchez Crozier, and Carlos Covarrubias and mentors who offered invaluable feedback to help these founders grow.
This event showed the power of community, collaboration, and innovation, and we’re excited to continue building momentum across Chicago’s South and West sides as we support and uplift local entrepreneurs!
More photos to follow!
Lucy Brennan Alonso Cisneros Hispanics in Philanthropy #TechRise #NeighborhoodSeries #LittleVillage #Pilsen #PitchCompetition #Inicio #LatinxEcosystem
Investor at Hustle Fund
3moPumped to connect with Chicago founders and investors!