
PROVIDENCE – Wednesday evening, Rhode Island’s entrepreneurs brought a slice of Silicon Valley to the Waterfire Arts Center in Providence with the annual “Get Started Rhode Island” business pitch competition hosted by Cox Business.
Six finalists pitched their business ideas to a panel of expert judges and answered exacting questions about their experience, business strategy and marketability.
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Alex Tavares of Tvar EdTech took home the grand prize package, valued at $50,000, for his flagship product Read Read, a phonics teaching device that allows both sighted and blind students to learn foundational reading skills without a teacher’s direct instruction.
“Hundreds of millions of children around the world are suffering,” Tavares began after taking the stage to music by Stevie Wonder. “They’re not receiving the literacy instruction that they need or deserve.”
The $50,000 prize Tavares received includes $25,000 in cash, a technology package courtesy of Cox Business, expert mentorship by RevUp/Betaspring, advertising in Providence Business News, and more.

An additional $3,000 cash prize was awarded to the audience’s favorite entrepreneur, Linden Wyatt of Optera Diagnostics, a biotechnology company that utilizes a fluorescent peptide platform to more accurately view cancer cells during surgical and biopsy procedures.
The other Get Started RI finalists were:
- Richard McDonald and Clemens Grave for Finnest, a prepaid debit card and mobile app to teach young children about financial responsibility.
- Nico Enriquez for Farmer Willie’s, an alcoholic low-sugar craft ginger beer.
- Vishnu Dantu for Predictive Optics, a continuous imaging system that gives neurosurgeons enhanced visibility during surgery.
- Victor Ricci for Trend Pie, which connects companies, social influencers and content specialists to drive more cost-effective audience interaction.
PBN Editor Mark S. Murphy was among the four panelist judges. Other judges included Melissa Withers, managing director of Betaspring; James Ledbetter, editor of Inc. magazine; and Thorne Sparkman, managing director of the Slater Technology Fund.
Ken Kraft, senior vice president of marketing and sales operations for Cox Business, moderated the event.
“This venue and this crowd embody what the entrepreneurial spirit is all about here in Rhode Island,” said Kraft. “It takes a lot of guts to get up here and do what these six people did tonight.”
Last night’s event was the fifth annual Get Started Rhode Island contest. Last year’s winner was Matt Tortora, founder and CEO of WhatsGood, a Providence-based online marketplace that uses web and mobile apps to connect wholesale food purchasers directly with locally grown sources.
Galen Auer is a PBN contributing writer. Email galen.auer@gmail.com or follow on Twitter at @PBNAuer.