PROVIDENCE – GoPeer, a virtual tutoring company, took the top prize at the Cox Business Get Started Rhode Island business pitch competition, which held virtually on Sept. 30.
GoPeer beat out five other finalists in the contest, according to Cox. Ethan Binder, co-founder of GoPeer, was awarded $50,000 in cash and technology services from Cox Business to help his business grow.
The tutoring platform for K-12 students has seen a surge with COVID-19 face-to-face school restrictions, according to Cox. GoPeer, which utilizes undergraduate tutors, was able to simultaneously offer parents affordable tutoring while providing part-time jobs to college students.
“While 2020 presented new challenges and opportunities for the entrepreneurial environment, we were thrilled to see yet another enthusiastic crop of startup companies competing for this year’s top prize,” said Ross L. Nelson, vice president of Cox Business.
Get Started RI featured six local entrepreneurs pitching their company offerings to a range of judges, including John Rafferty, last year’s Get Started Rhode Island winner and CEO of Retail MarketPoint; Arnell Milhouse, co-founder and CEO of CareerDevs Computer Science University; Karl Wadensten, CEO and president of VIBCO Vibrators; and Shannon Shallcross, co-founder and CEO of BetaXAnalytics. Leadership Rhode Island Executive Director Mike Ritz was the moderator.
The startup company VISIT won Fan Favorite and $5,000 in cash. The company, based in Providence, makes an app to assist dementia patients and caregivers. Other finalists at the event included Narragansett’s Flux Marine and Providence’s Pangea.App, KerlyGirl and Asthenis.
This was the eighth annual Get Started contest in Rhode Island.
Cox Business is the commercial division of Cox Communications.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
