Several of Pittsburgh’s local businesses made the cut for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. These startup companies were selected based on innovation, financial savvy, and contributions to the community. You’ve probably visited one of the finalists for breakfast. Pam Cohen and Gail Klingensmith, the owners of six Pamela’s P&G Diners, were nominated for the award as well as Meg Cheever of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
“Other finalists may not have that level of name recognition, but several have expanded to have global reach.
“Finalist Judith Bannon is founder and executive director of Cribs for Kids, a nonprofit organization in Hazelwood that has provided cribs to families in need since 1998. The organization’s goal is to reduce deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, by providing safe sleep education to new parents.”
Diamond Kinetics, a company located in RCI’s Northshore offices, also made it to the final round for the award. The startup develops analytic technology to help baseball players improve their swing.
Many of the Pittsburgh startups, like Thread International, demonstrate an international influence, but stress the importance of being headquartered in the steel city.
“Another finalist, Ian Rosenberger, founder and CEO of East Liberty-based Thread International, also said his company could not be located anywhere but Pittsburgh.
“Thread provides work to low-income people in Haiti by collecting recyclable trash and converting it into fabric used in garments and accessories. He started Thread following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and has the dual goals of trying to solve the country’s poverty and its trash problems.”
While the finalists represent a variety of innovations, they all have one thing in common - they couldn’t have accomplished their goals in any other city.
On June 19th, Ernst and Young will present the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Image by Keith Allison
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