Long Island company earns top prize in national pitch competition

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A Bellport-based small business owner was the big winner in a recent national pitch competition in Philadelphia, taking home $20,000.

Lisa Basini, who owns The Baking Coach, an educational and entertainment cooking company, earned the grand prize in the 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition from SCORE, a network of volunteer, expert business mentors.

“I really couldn’t believe it,” Basini said about earning the top prize, in a news release about the competition.

The SCORE competition is designed to help business owners hone their presentation and selling skills. Participants gain insights and guidance from SCORE mentors and industry experts, and a chance to network, all at no cost to participants. This year the competition also recognized SCORE’s 60th anniversary.

Basini was among the more than 2,200 small businesses that had applied to participate in the event. The company produces patent-pending “Edible Cookie Dough Baking Activity Kits.”

“I always say these baking activity kits have my whole life’s work in them, so to be acknowledged by SCORE was such an honor,” Basini said.

The kits are available in three flavors: chocolate chip, oatmeal cookie and birthday sprinkle. They include pre-measured quality, non-GMO ingredients to create safe-to-eat raw cookie dough that people can also bake into cookies. Each bag is created with intention for all learning styles to follow along. The cookie dough can be created right in the bag. The bags also follow in the Baking Coach’s mission to create an inclusive baking activity for all, and to create an inclusive workforce in the process. Part of the Baking Coach’s workforce includes the differently-abled community and teaching them job skills.

“It’s so easy to make cookies and you don’t have to make a mess in your kitchen because there is no bowl,” Basini said. “Just mix everything in the bag.”

Basini said that she wants “everyone, regardless of age or ability to be able to bake. I’ve really made it as easy as possible so that everyone can experience the joy of baking.”

Additional winners also included two from Pennsylvania: Demetri “James” Patitsas of The Greek Shack in Mountaintop, and Ed and Kristin Cunningham of The Spot Hometown Deli in Elizabethtown.

Grants to the prize winners are from two organizations: Global Atlantic Financial Group and Principal.