Diana Lainez, founder of Ocata, a Salvadoran-inspired creamy sauce company, captivated the audience Tuesday night at this year’s Pitch Latino event, winning the grand prize.
Lainez secured the top award, an $8,000 grant, at the competition held at OMSI, which featured eleven founders pitching products ranging from sustainable, low-waste products to Climate Tech platforms and Media and microseries enterprises. Ocata’s unique creamy sauces, which blend Salvadoran flavors with modern branding, stood out. Lainez aims to use the prize money to continue product development in preparation for an initial product launch in 2025.
At Ocata, the sauces are not just a reflection of Lainez’s culinary cravings but are deeply tied to her cultural roots. “Our products allow us to tell a story — about flavor, culture, and heritage,” she told the crowd. “It’s a way of sharing Salvadoran culture with the world, in a way that fits seamlessly into modern life.”
The event saw over 272 votes cast, with the audience selecting the winner. All participants received $2,000 grants, and the prize funds came from a combination of sponsorships and ticket sales.
Pitch Latino is organized by Latino Founders, an organization dedicated to fostering the growth and success of underserved businesses. Their mission is to provide support, resources, and opportunities to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs and contribute to the overall economic development in the Pacific Northwest.
Here’s who pitched in addition to Ocata:
Way of Being: A Portland-based shop providing sustainable, low-waste products and education through both an e-commerce platform and a physical store.
Aizenflow: A platform providing data insights to streamline logistics for freight brokers and trucking companies.
The Suma Platform: A bilingual app designed to help low-income and underserved communities save on essential expenses like food and utilities.
Training to Impact: Offers tailored leadership and team development training to optimize performance and drive innovation.
Portland Water: A company providing sustainable bottled water packaged in fully recyclable aluminum cans, sourced from a natural spring in Central Oregon.
Solarcycle: A startup delivering 100% solar-powered off-grid tiny homes to sustainable farm clients.
Orox Leather: A Portland-based, multi-generational leather goods company blending traditional craftsmanship with modern design.
TODOS Media: A platform celebrating stories from underrepresented communities through podcasts, microseries, and documentaries.
Propio: A platform automating bookkeeping and financial management for accounting firms, making compliance and communication simple and efficient.
Estrellitas Bilingual: A preschool where children ages 3-5 learn Spanish through engaging activities like music, art, and outdoor exploration while fostering social and academic growth.
Pitch Latino opened with the unveiling of a new partnership with Continuous Solutions, Skip Technologies, and Latino Founders to create the Power of Energy Center of the Pacific Northwest, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advancing technologies in Clean Energy, Power Distribution, and Energy Conversion and storage.
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