ClearPitch Earth Day Event Summary

This month, A2X joined the judging panel for an Earth Day edition of the pitch competition,  ClearPitch.

This article is a brief summary of the competition. Here’s a recording of the event:

What is ClearPitch?

ClearPitch was created by ecommerce investors Clearco as a different kind of pitch competition. 

It’s data-driven. Finalists are selected based on their online sales and marketing performance data. Then they pitch their business live to an expert panel of judges. 

And Clearco supports its winners with more than just capital. This time around, the pool of prizes (worth $75,000) included a carbon emissions audit, a 1:1 business review and a social impact marketing strategy session. 

And, of course, a 12 month subscription to A2X. 

“Since the inaugural competition, we’ve been able to provide 30+ founders the opportunity to share their stories, connect with leading partners in our network, and provide access to exclusive resources, growth tools, and expertise.”

- Tori Piccin, Sr. Partner Marketing Manager, Clearco​​​​​

Earth Day: A ClearPitch special edition

“Sustainability is not a “trend”, rather it is the ethos businesses need to incorporate today for a prosperous future for us and the generations to come."  

- Murtaza Umar, Senior Investment Associate, Clearco 

April 22nd is Earth Day. 

It’s a chance to show our commitment to sustainability.

So to commemorate and honor Earth Day, this edition of ClearPitch invited entries from businesses dedicated to environmental and social regeneration. 

Based on their data, three finalists were selected. 

The Finalists

Chrissie Lam, Love Is Project

Love Is Project provides economic opportunities for female artisans.

Their beaded bracelets are crafted by a community of 2,000 artisans across 10 countries. 

They’re more than a bracelet, donating $150K to conservation projects, disaster relief, LGBTQIA+ issues and cancer charities. And many of their bracelets are crafted with upcycled materials, including recycled flip-flops. 

“One bracelet at a time, we’ve been able to impact the lives of thousands through job opportunities, financial freedom, and charitable donations.”

- Chrissie Lam, Love Is Project

Ian Bentley, Parker Clay

Parker Clay creates better bags for a better world. 

Their leather bags are 100% Ethiopian-made, with locally sourced materials. 

Their factory provides local women with a living wage as well as training, healthcare and pensions. For many of these women, it’s their first paycheck. Parker Clay also works with local schools to plant trees and teach sustainable practices.

“We can create a world’s highest quality product, and also create some of the biggest impact possible. We don’t need to compromise on either one.”

- Ian Bentley, Parker Clay

Halina Torresan & Pier-Anne Rouleau, The Unscented Company

The Unscented Company wants to redefine the notion of clean and eliminate single-use packaging. 

They create unscented home and body care products that are solid or refillable. Last year, they saved over a million plastic bottles from landfill. 

The Unscented Company sources over 85% of ingredients from local Canadian suppliers.  

“As companies we have no choice… [by putting products on the market] we all have a responsibility… for their impact on the planet.”

- Halina Torresan, The Unscented Company

“We loved our first ClearPitch experience! To be honest, we were more than surprised to be the only Canadian company, and so a little bit stressed… But at the end it was a formative experience which allowed us to raise points of improvement for this kind of presentation.”

- Pier-Anne Rouleau, The Unscented Company

The judging panel

Our three finalists had ten minutes each to pitch their business to a live panel of judges. 

The judges came from Clearco’s network of partners, each with a focus on sustainability or business:

• Dane Baker, Co-Founder and CEO of EcoCart. EcoCart enables businesses to calculate and offset their carbon emissions.

• Nicole Hakakian, Ecosystem Marketing, Strategic Technology Partnerships at Klaviyo. Klaviyo helps businesses to automate their SMS, email and owned-media marketing. 

• Ronny Sage, CEO of ShoppingGives. ShoppingGives provides customers with the opportunity to make a charitable donation on every purchase. 

• Callum Armstrong, Content Marketing Manager at  A2X Accounting. Alongside leading the content marketing program at A2X, Callum spends lots of time volunteering for grassroots environmental projects by helping them with their marketing.

The judges questioned each finalist on their plans for scaling, distribution and strategy. They deliberated and reached a consensus on a winner.  

And the winner is… Parker Clay

“We felt [with Parker Clay]… this grant could really be magnified, and could do a lot of good.” 

- Dane Baker Co-Founder & CEO, EcoCart (Guest Judge Panelist)

Parker Clay was selected based on its high lifetime value, low return rate and strong product-market fit.

The judges felt that Parker Clay could maximize the value of the prizes - for business success as well as environmental and community impact. 

Thank you, Clearco!

Thank you to Clearco for inviting A2X to partake in this event that put environmentally conscious entrepreneurs in the spotlight.

Clearco offers founder-friendly funding for ecommerce businesses. They believe you should be able to finance your business without giving up equity. And their data-driven approach takes the bias out of traditional funding methods.

Learn more about how Clearco can help your business. 

“It’s been a pleasure and a learning experience… to be involved [in ClearPitch]. The sheer volume of sustainable brands that applied to ClearPitch was an exciting discovery and we’re looking forward to working with the three finalists, helping them to create even more impact and continue to do well by doing good.”

- Ronny Sage, Founder & CEO of ShoppingGives (Guest Judge Panelist)

“Klaviyo as a foundation is built on a set of values and I’ve always aligned with our organization-wide effort to make the world more equitable. To us, this means giving everyone their fair shot at success. Participating in ClearCo’s EarthDay edition of ClearPitch gave me the opportunity to fill up that cup and contribute game-changing resources to a growing business, as well as encourage a sustainable brand on their mission to empower women in Ethiopia with jobs and living wages. Congratulations to the team at Parker Clay on scaling a beautiful product and mission.”

- Nicole Hakakian, Ecosystem Marketing, Strategic Technology Partnerships at Klaviyo (Guest Judge Panelist)