In Brief: CleverFi was named the winner of the Travel Tech Start-Up Summit Pitch Competition, underscoring growing industry interest in emerging technology providers that aim to improve hospitality operations and services.
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CleverFi Wins Travel Tech Start-Up Summit Pitch Competition – Image Credit Travel Technology Association
CleverFi competed against seven other finalists to win $10,000 in funding
CleverFi, a startup that enables travelers to automatically and securely connect to WiFi by extending their home WiFi network to anywhere in the world, has won the Pitch Competition at Travel Tech Association’s (Travel Tech) Start-Up Summit in National Landing, V.A. They were chosen by a panel of six judges from eight finalists and won a $10,000 prize.
Pitch Competition results
CleverFi pitched along seven other finalists: Chirrup, HousMthr, ItinAFairy, RoomRite Group Solutions, The Run Hub, Tripiamo, and Voyagier.
Each finalist gave a seven-minute pitch followed by five minutes of questions from the judges. Pitches were scored out of 100 on the customer problem, the solution, market opportunity, business model, competitive advantage, progress to date, vision and delivery.
CleverFi also won the audience vote, after attendees were asked which company they would personally invest in.
“Startups are where the next generation of travel products comes from, and today’s finalists showed how much talent and ambition there is in this sector,” said Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of Travel Tech. “The founders we heard from are building in a tough market. AI is changing how travelers search and book, customers are harder to reach and investors want to see revenue sooner. Yet every company on that stage had a clear answer to a real traveler problem. Our job is to connect founders like CleverFi with the investors, partners and established travel companies that can help them grow.”
The judges were:
- Steve Reynolds, CEO, CorpTravelTech
- Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Executive Director and Head of Policy, Chase Travel
- Chris Joyce, Founder and CEO, Gusher
- Scott Hill, Founder and Executive Director, Proxenia Foundation
- Shondra Washington, Founder, TBC Capital
- Gilad Berenstein, Founder, Brook Bay Capital
Travel Tech Association (Travel Tech) is the unified voice for the travel technology ecosystem. Travel Tech brings together enterprise leaders, growth-stage companies, and emerging innovators to advance public policies that support competition, innovation, and a strong technology-enabled travel marketplace. Through advocacy, regulatory intelligence, and cross-sector collaboration, Travel Tech helps shape the future of modern travel.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Jessica Matthias: jmatthias@belverapartners.com.