
Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), including Service-Disabled Veteran DOBEs, virtually pitch to Supplier Diversity leaders
Join us for Disability:IN’s 2022 Pitch Perfect Challenge on Tuesday, May 24th! In this exciting multi-round competition, certified Disability Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran DOBEs, and Veteran DOBEs pitch their way to business opportunities.
Three businesses, including one “People’s Choice” via social voting, will advance to the final round at the 2022 Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo, where the first-place winner will be chosen and awarded on stage.
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Social Voting Process & Schedule
Disability:IN will highlight each DOBE one at a time in a LinkedIn social media post, following the schedule below. The post will be published for 24 hours – in which social voting is open for that DOBE.
To vote go to Disability:IN’s LinkedIn page, during a specific DOBE’s social voting period, and “LIKE” the post and comment “I’m IN” on post featuring the DOBE semi-finalist. Whoever receives the most total engagements on their post wins the People’s Choice and secures one of three spots in the Finals.
Disability-Owned Business | Social Voting Period |
---|---|
Akoio Enterprises, Inc | 5/31/2022 | 10 AM Tuesday- 10 AM Wednesday |
Disability Inclusion Solution | 6/01/2022 | 10 AM Wednesday- 10 AM Thursday |
Orange Lab Media | 6/02/2022 | 10 AM Thursday- 10 AM Friday |
Safe’N’Clear, Inc. | 6/06/2022 | 10 AM Monday- 10 AM Tuesday |
Zavikon LLC | 6/08/2022 | 10 AM Wednesday- 10 AM Thursday |
The Semi-Finalists

Bill Schiffmiller, Founder & CEO
Akoio Enterprises, Inc.
Bill Schiffmiller is Founder and CEO of Akoio™, a company dedicated to providing products and services tailored to the needs of people who experience hearing loss. A life-long hearing aid user and hearing wellness advocate, Bill knows first hand the inconveniences posed by a hearing aid, and founded Akoio to make the pursuit of hearing wellness a rewarding experience rather than a frustrating one.
Social Voting: 10:00 AM ET Tuesday, 5/31 until 10:00 AM ET Wednesday, 6/1

Andrew Houghton, Founder & CEO
Disability Inclusion Solutions
Disability Inclusion Solutions (DIS), founded by CEO Andrew Houghton, specializes in the development of programs and services that promote full inclusion for people with disabilities. Andy has used a wheelchair since a 1986 motorcycle accident resulting in paraplegia. For over 20 years, his expert team has offered inclusion solutions that work.
Social Voting: 10:00 AM ET Wednesday, 6/1 until 10:00 AM ET Thursday, 6/2

Keel Russell, CEO & Co-Founder
Orange Lab Media
Social Voting: 10:00 AM ET Thursday, 6/2 until 10:00 AM ET Friday, 6/3

Dr. Anne McIntosh, President
Safe ‘N’ Clear
Dr. Anne McIntosh, a Communication Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus and member of the deaf community, founded Safe’N’Clear, Inc. in 2012 as a result of her real-life communication complications experience during childbirth.
She recognized there was a critical need for effective communication between the hearing world and those with hearing loss in masked environments, not just in life-threatening situations, but in every day communications.
Social Voting: 10:00 AM ET Monday, 6/6 until 10:00 AM ET Tuesday, 6/7

Rebecca Beam, Founder & CEO
Zavikon
Social Voting: 10:00 AM ET Wednesday, 6/8 until 10:00 AM ET Thursday, 6/9