Beyond the Pitch: Why Pitch It! 2025 Represents the Future of Innovative Economic Development

When education meets capital, mentorship meets technology, and proven founders meet real opportunities—everyone wins.

In a landscape crowded with accelerators that promise connections and curriculum, Integrality's Start.Pivot.Grow. Accelerator stands apart. We don't just teach entrepreneurs how to build better businesses. We don't just connect them to advisors and mentors. We fuel their growth with non-dilutive cash grants, AI-powered business technology, and actionable growth strategies that drive measurable results.

On November 6, 2025, the Pitch It! 2025 competition will showcase exactly what happens when you combine rigorous business development with real capital—no equity required, no strings attached. Just fuel for growth.

The Leader Behind the Model

For over 25 years, our founder, Cynthia Nevels, has been at the intersection of economic development, entrepreneurship, and access to capital. With a career spanning Siebel Systems, now Oracle, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, and One Million Black Women, Capital One, U.S. Small Business Administration, LiftFund, JPMorgan Chase, Jumpstart, ICIC, Babson College, Santander, and Dallas College, she understands both the power of traditional financial systems and their blind spots.

She's witnessed firsthand how traditional systems often overlook founders with real traction—businesses generating revenue, creating jobs, and serving their communities, yet unable to access the capital, technology, and strategic support needed to scale.

Born From Crisis, Built for Resilience

In 2020, as the pandemic forced businesses across the country to shutter operations, she saw an urgent need and an opportunity. Small business owners weren't just facing a health crisis—they were facing an economic survival crisis. Many had viable businesses but lacked the strategic positioning and documentation needed to access the flood of disaster relief capital being deployed.

Start.Pivot.Grow. was launched during the pandemic shutdown with a clear mission: help small business owners pivot their operations and strategically position themselves to access disaster relief capital to sustain their businesses through the crisis.

What began as an emergency response has evolved into one of the leading accelerators in Texas—and the impact speaks for itself:

📈 Helped small businesses raise over $1 million in capital

💰 Awarded over $100,000 in grant funds annually

🚀 Raised over $500,000 in capital to expand program operations

🎯 Supported hundreds of entrepreneurs through comprehensive business development

🏆 Built a proven model that combines education, advising, technology, and non-dilutive capital

This wasn't about creating another pitch competition or another curriculum-only accelerator. This was about building a complete ecosystem that serves high-growth businesses traditional systems overlook—founders with traction, revenue, and vision who are ready to scale but lack access to the capital, technology, and strategic support needed to break through.

The data proves the model works. When you combine comprehensive business education with personalized advising, AI-powered technology, and non-dilutive capital, businesses don't just survive—they thrive.

As a female CEO leading one of the most innovative accelerators in the country, she's not just changing the conversation around inclusive entrepreneurship. She's changing the outcomes.

A Complete Ecosystem: Education, Capital & Technology

Most accelerators stop at education. Some add mentorship. Very few provide capital. Even fewer integrate AI-powered technology to accelerate growth.

Start.Pivot.Grow. delivers all four:

1. Comprehensive Business Education

Our scholars engage in structured modules covering entrepreneurial mindset, financial well-being, business model development, customer acquisition strategy, operations planning, and financial forecasting. This isn't theory—it's immediately applicable to their businesses.

2. Personalized Advising & Mentorship

Through partnerships with organizations like Wells Fargo Foundation, we match founders with experienced business advisors and mentors who provide insights, challenge assumptions, and help identify overlooked opportunities. Our scholars complete a minimum of four advising sessions, ensuring consistent support throughout their growth journey.

3. AI-Powered Business Technology

We equip participants with cutting-edge AI biztech tools that streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and accelerate growth. From market analysis to financial modeling, our scholars leverage technology that levels the playing field.

4. Non-Dilutive Cash Grants

Here's where we truly differ: we provide capital without taking equity. Our scholars compete for grant awards that fuel expansion, inventory, marketing, hiring, and infrastructure—the real investments that drive sustainable growth. No dilution. No debt. Just fuel.

5. Growth Strategy & Action Plan

Every participant develops a comprehensive growth strategy and action plan tailored to their business. This living document becomes their roadmap, evaluated through a readiness score that assesses their feasibility for accessing additional capital beyond our program.

Pitch It! 2025: Where Preparation Meets Opportunity

On Wednesday, November 6, 2025, the Dallas Entrepreneurship Center will host Pitch It! 2025—the culmination of months of intensive work by our current cohort.

This isn't your typical pitch competition. 

The founders taking the stage have:

✅ Completed their growth strategies

✅ Attended multiple business advising sessions

✅ Participated in Pitch Readiness & Storytelling workshops

✅ Demonstrated revenue growth and job creation

✅ Proven their capacity to turn capital into measurable impact

They're not just pitching ideas. They're pitching proven businesses ready to scale.

$32,000 in Grant Awards

Our pitch competitors will compete for $32,000 in non-dilutive cash grants—capital that will directly fuel expansion, create jobs, and strengthen Dallas' economic fabric. These aren't loans. There's no equity exchange. This is investment in businesses that are already winning and ready to accelerate.

Why You Need to Be There

For Investors: See vetted, investment-ready companies with proven business models, demonstrated revenue growth, and clear capital deployment strategies. Our scholars have been through rigorous business development—they're not just pitching, they're ready.

For Corporate Partners & Tech Companies: Discover collaboration opportunities with innovative founders who are leveraging technology and strategic thinking to disrupt industries. Identify potential vendor relationships, partnership opportunities, and portfolio companies.

For Banks & Financial Institutions: Meet entrepreneurs with strong financial plans, established credit-building strategies, and clear paths to bankability. These are the businesses that represent the future of community economic development.

For Business Leaders & Ecosystem Builders: Witness the model that's changing how we support overlooked founders. Learn how comprehensive support—education, advising, technology, and capital—creates sustainable business growth and community impact.

For Fellow Entrepreneurs: Network with peers who are navigating the same challenges, celebrate their wins, and connect with the resources, advisors, and partners who can help fuel your own growth journey.

What Makes This a Premier Ecosystem Event

Pitch It! 2025 isn't just about competition—it's about community, connection, and collaboration.

This is where:

• Businesses find investment partners

• Investors discover vetted opportunities

• Corporate partners identify innovative vendors

• Tech companies meet early adopters

• Banks connect with bankable entrepreneurs

• The Dallas business community comes together to celebrate economic momentum

Our accelerator scholars aren't just building businesses. They're generating measurable revenue, creating sustainable jobs, feeding families, and strengthening our local economy. They represent the high-growth potential that exists when we intentionally serve the overlooked.

Join Us November 6

📍 Dallas Entrepreneurship Center

3560 W. Camp Wisdom Road, Suite 200

Dallas, Texas 75237

Free Parking | Refreshments Provided

📅 Wednesday, November 6, 2025

⏰ 1:00 - 3:00 PM CST

REGISTER NOW

Space is limited.

This is the afternoon that matters—where you'll witness the businesses driving Dallas forward and discover opportunities to partner, invest, and collaborate as we move into 2026.

Pitch It! 2025 is made possible by our visionary sponsors:

Wells Fargo Foundation | Dallas College Foundation | The UPS Foundation | Spectrum Reach | The Cynthia E. and Clarence E. Nevels Foundation | Integrality

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About Integrality and Start.Pivot.Grow.

Integrality's Start.Pivot.Grow. Accelerator is redefining what's possible when comprehensive business support meets real capital. Launched during the pandemic to help businesses pivot and survive, we've grown into one of Texas' leading accelerators—helping small businesses raise over $1 million in capital, awarding over $100,000 in grants annually, and building a proven model that fuels equitable economic development. Through our integrated approach of education, personalized advising, AI-powered technology, and non-dilutive cash grants, we serve high-growth businesses that traditional systems overlook. Our scholars aren't just learning—they're growing revenue, creating jobs, and building sustainable enterprises that strengthen our community.

These aren't just pitches. This is proof that when we invest in overlooked founders, everyone wins.

See you November 6.