Leap Venture Academy is pleased to announce that The Bark Shoppe is the winner of its 2020 Leap Pet Project Virtual Pitch Competition. The Bark Shoppe, a NYC based startup reimagining the pet grooming industry, beat out 5 other finalists to win the $15k grand prize.

The pitch competition took place over the last 6 weeks of this summer. More than 75 early stage pet care startups from across the world applied to take part in Leap’s summer activities, including the pitch competition. Due to COVID-19, the pitch competition took place virtually, and the live reveal premiered on YouTube on Tuesday.

In awarding the top prize, the panel of judges noted that they were impressed with The Bark Shoppe’s ability to pivot during the pandemic and the future potential for the business.

Second place in the pitch competition went to Mella Pet Care. Mella, which builds accessible technology and diagnostic products for veterinarians and pet parents, won $7,500. Judges said they were impressed with how far the Chicago-based startup has advanced in the past year and believed they are well positioned to take advantage of the rise in telemedicine.

Judges awarded the third place prize to Kibus, the first home appliance that cooks healthy pet food. Kibus impressed the judges with its product’s innovation and convenience. As part of their prize, the Spain-based startup will receive a $2,500 grant.

The other finalists taking part in the pitch competition included Save All the Pets, WoofTogether, and SuperPetFoods.

You can watch the entire competition here.

The Leap Pet Project Pitch Competition is a way for idea-and-early-stage pet care founders to receive grant money and early publicity. Leap has a strong history of investing in both winners and finalists through our Leap Venture Studio. Previous winners, including Scratch Pay and Lacuna Diagnostics, have gone on to be major disruptors in the pet care industry.

We look forward to continued interaction between these startups and Leap as they all work to shape a smarter world for pets & their people. If you are working on a startup idea, check out our events to help you get to the next level.