SAN ANTONIO – TechFuel is a business-pitch competition, where the winners can win $100,000. It’s like “Shark Tank”, but for local area entrepreneurs.
The TechFuel competition is put on by both Bexar County and Tech Bloc and many of the winning companies have gone on to make an impact in the or area community.
Jennifer Newell, founder and CEO of Betty’s Co., entered the competition for funding for early stage start-ups back in 2021 and actually won.
“I was honestly quite surprised when we won the grand prize for TechFuel,” Newell said.
Newell had come up with the idea of Betty’s Co. back in 2017, when she realized there was a San Antonio area problem.
“I looked at the market and I saw that nothing had really changed in the last 20 years, you know, and I decided I need to do something different. We needed to do something different for the women of San Antonio and, you know, beyond,” Newell said.
Newell’s healthcare company is one that focuses on Gen Z women.
“It’s five minutes, they come and present what their company is doing so far from their team, from their traction and how many customers, how they’re doing at go to market, and that they have found that the product market fit that people are interested in,” Ileana Gonzalez, Tech Bloc CEO said.
Programs like TechFuel aim to help local entrepreneurs like Newell grow their business and help the local economy.
“It’s fueling other companies. It’s fueling other organizations to continue to get more investment into them. And it’s growing our ecosystem. This is a huge opportunity for people to come out, network, learn what’s happening out there,” Gonzalez said.
And how did the winnings help?
“It expedited our growth. And the brand and awareness for Betty’s in San Antonio,” Newell said.
Betty’s Co. has about 100 patients a month now at a mobile unit. And really, it is just the start.
“What’s next for Betty’s Co. is to continue to grow in San Antonio, prove the value of what we are doing and then start to look at expansion, both here and with additional locations. So that includes a brick and mortar location and another mobile clinic. And then thinking about how we expand into Austin, Houston, Dallas and beyond,” Newell said.
San Antonio Startup is Oct. 16 through Oct. 21 and you can learn more about the plans here.
You can also find more info on Betty Co. by clicking here. For more about TechFuel and Tech Bloc, click here.