The Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) Innovation Pitch Competition, presented by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), has become a staple of HITEC, and it celebrated its 10th anniversary at HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A decade after its debut in Austin, Texas, eight start-ups took the stage at the E20X North America 2025 competition, aiming to win the E20X Judge’s Choice Award and a $5,000 prize or the People’s Choice Award, determined by HITEC attendees. The finalists were selected by the Selection Committee, which chose the participants whose technologies demonstrated the most potential to innovate the hospitality industry.
These start-ups showcased a wide range of capabilities, and Levee ultimately emerged victorious, winning both the Judge’s Choice Award and the People’s Choice Award. Co-Founder Al Lagunas presented about how the AI housekeeping assistant works as a data platform. He also explained how the solution provides AI workers who help with room inspections by providing real-time feedback, which enables teams to correct potential issues, like a missing towel, immediately, as well as tracking data, including task completion times and performance metrics. In doing so, Levee increases the efficiency of room inspections, cuts costs through automation, reduces errors in manual data entry, and boosts inventory accuracy. By pairing humans and AI, Levee provides a unified workforce and a central operating system.
The competitors all pitched concepts that applied to various aspects of the hospitality industry. Rich Tuckwell-Skuda, CEO and founder of The Anything Group (TAG), presented Albie by TAG, a booking engine that connects hotel groups and service providers to a shared ecosystem. Tuckwell-Skuda highlighted how Albie’s collaborative booking model makes it the “Amazon of travel booking,” as it enables guests to combine multiple hotels and services across cities and providers with one cart rather than using multiple platforms. Daan de Bruijn, co-founder of Bookboost, pitched the company, which is a CRM created for hospitality. He discussed the company’s solutions, including a unified inbox that accelerates response times, a customer data platform that drives personalization at scale by consolidating customer data from various platforms into one source, and a web app, which provides the information guests need and implements both online check-in and check-out.
Cristina Imperial Carl, founder of Ediphi, detailed how the company aims to change career training and power workforce development through personalized training and coaching with Yumi, an AI-powered virtual trainer. Ediphi immerses trainees in virtual reality labs that help build hard skills, soft skills, and risk readiness, as well as mirror specific brand standards. Paradigm Evergreen founder Nico Ramirez presented EEVA, a plumbing-less in-room washer/dryer with a built-in water tank. Ramirez explained how the machine was an appealing investment for hotels with its low energy consumption and its small size, and he pointed to research that showed how guests are willing to pay more for in-room laundry, making it even more economical.
During the competition, sustainability was in the spotlight with SEE Carbon ZERO, presented by CEO Adam Dragic, an automated platform that simplifies carbon calculation and reporting and helps hotels both strategize and optimize ways to enhance compliance with ESG goals. Dragic also detailed how See Carbon Zero’s platform was efficient by enabling users to use one platform for multiple properties.
Meanwhile, Mike Medsker from SIV presented their lead management platform, which streamlines sales and increases conversions through faster response times, personalized responses, and pushing sales systems. SIV’s sales activity reports also help users plan the usage of their resources and gain insights into key accounts.
The use of AI, a popular theme throughout the conference, was also the focus with Vella AI. Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Jack Tadami highlighted how Vella’s AI-powered hotelier boosts group sales by centralizing and organizing inbound leads, preparing leads for approval, and helping hotel teams respond faster. With its automated messaging and AI-generated proposals, Vella leverages data to maximize revenues for hotels.
While Levee won both prizes, the competition was still invaluable for the other start-ups; they all received a complimentary exhibit space on the HITEC floor and mentorship from industry veterans. Additionally, the companies received exposure by presenting to potential investors and customers. Making it to the E20X stage showed that these eight start-ups are innovative concepts for the hospitality industry, and their futures remain especially bright.
