They Keep Bees takes home $10K prize at annual pitch contest

GREENFIELD — Victory was sweet like honey for They Keep Bees owner Ang Roell at this year’s Franklin County Community Development Corporation’s fifth “Take the Floor” pitch contest, when Roell and four other local entrepreneurs faced off for a $10,000 prize.

In the past, several entrepreneurs have split the $10,000 boost. According to Angela Varilly, the business assistance manager at the Franklin County CDC, the organization shifted to one winner this year to expand the impact of the investment.

“This could make a real impact for business owners to buy that equipment or build what they need to build. $10,000 in your pocket is substantial,” Varilly said. “Realistically, Franklin County, Hampshire County, we are all thriving in this area on the small business owner — the person who has an idea that turns it into a passion … that they can pass onto their children and keep our local economies downtown.”

Chrystal Santos took the stage first on June 25 at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center. As founder of Perspective Learning, a Greenfield-based practice that provides therapy and educational services for young students on the autism spectrum and their families, she explained that the $10,000 investment, donated by the Franklin First Federal Credit Union, would “eliminate” Perspective Learning’s wait-list and fund two to three months of the employees’ payroll as the practice waits for insurance reimbursement.

“I recently left my school position to pursue this full-time, because I believe this is the greatest impact I can make for Franklin County,” Santos told the audience and judges. “What keeps me going isn’t the data — although I do love data. It’s seeing the families feel confident, it’s watching the children gain skills, it’s seeing progress, no matter how small, turn into big change over time.”

Next, Rich Calhoun, co-owner of Outer Limits Cycle & Ski in Greenfield, described his plans to install technology, nicknamed the “Fitting Lab,” that would read the pressure customers put on a boot to determine the best ski boot fit for them. He argued that the new technology would help draw more skiers and cyclists to Greenfield.

“It’s pretty remarkable technology,” Calhoun said. “Whether we receive the grant or not, this is something we strongly believe in.”

Tristan Evans, owner of Tristan Evans Construction Inc. in Greenfield, turned the judges’ attention to housing. He hoped to funnel the $10,000 into a “Geodisc Dome Home” prototype, arguing that “the goal is to build a better housing product” that contractors can create “systematically” following Evans’ geometric design.

Roell of Montague’s They Keep Bees also beat out Riana Pizzi’s pitch for converting Giovanni’s Red Rose Motel in Charlemont, which she runs with her husband Aldo Pizzi, into a venue for weddings and other events through installing a tent and other updates.

Ahead of Pizzi, Roell took the stage to deliver the night’s winning pitch. Before diving into their $10,000 idea, Roell explained their company’s mission.

“They Keep Bees does some pretty niche things in the beekeeping industry,” Roell prefaced.

The beekeeper and their team raise queen bees — “the heartbeat of our apiary,” as Roell described — to be resistant to diseases targeting the bee population. They Keep Bees also leads peer-reviewed and field research, trains beekeepers of all skill levels through educational programs, and sells honey and beeswax products.

In the middle of their pitch, Roell pulled out a honeycomb frame from a hive box.

“Don’t worry, it’s not bees!” Roell exclaimed.

With honeycomb in one hand and a bottle of honey in the other, Roell said, “I need your help turning this into this.”

For the last two years, Roell has crushed and strained 4,000 pounds of raw honey by hand. The $10,000 will allow them to buy a centrifuge to take this task off their hands, curb the processing time from four to two weeks, and process double the current honey load in 2027.

“I founded They Keep Bees to strengthen the future of beekeeping through better genetics, better education and broader access, and I’m doing that,” Roell said. “This $10K could help me get even further along to my goal of strengthening the local food system and pollinator health.”

“Well, as they say, this is a sweet deal,” said judge Jim Geisman of Greenfield.

The audience voted online for the winner, but the judges made the final call, considering four criteria: the use of the $10,000; the entrepreneur’s skills, readiness and passion; the business model; and the investment’s impact on the community and its economy.

“What I’m really loving about this cohort is I think it really captures the beauty of Franklin County, and the diversity of the people and businesses and skills,” Max Fripp, a Franklin County CDC board member, said after the pitches. “We have people from food systems, we have the outdoor [recreation] economy, we have the tourism economy, we have skilled craftspeople thinking about advanced manufacturing, we have people thinking about the well-being of our kiddos. … I can’t imagine I’m the only person in this room thinking, ‘Gosh, we should invest in all of them.’”

As the judges deliberated, Franklin County CDC Executive Director John Waite explained that the “Take the Floor” pitch contest feeds the region’s “entrepreneur ecosystem.”

“We want thriving businesses,” Waite said. “[The business owners] care. They want to be here. … Our job is to help them not struggle as much. … We want to lift up people.”

“It’s providing that support and that help to let people know that they’re not alone,” Varilly echoed. “What drives me to do this work is to see the people and the entrepreneurs, the confidence that they get.”

According to Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane, she and the other judges chose Roell as the “Take the Floor” winner for the return on investment of the $10,000, claiming that the investment “will have a greater impact” on They Keep Bees and the community.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Franklin County,” Deane said. “This is a great example of the level of imagination and creativity and community impact of our businesses.”