14 NYC Companies Took The Stage Last Night To Compete For $25,000

It was like the finale of a reality TV show, only actually real.

Wednesday night's CROWDFUNDx NYC Challenge at The New School's Theresa Lang Center pitted 14 top NYC small businesses, social enterprise, and startup companies against each other for a $25,000 grand prize.

Crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder partnered with American Express OPEN Forum and Nokia@Work to host New York City's first annual CrowdfundX event to show how crowdfunding can support business growth and job creation.

More than 130 entries were submitted to the challenge in three categories: small business, social enterprise, and startup. The top 14 entries were chosen to compete Wednesday evening, with each pitching a 3-minute presentation to a panel of judges and more than 300 people in the audience.