When Demond Crump, founder of Reign, stood behind a long table and poured water on one of his company’s feminine hygiene products, he looked more like a scientist than a small business owner.He captured the crowd with his enthusiastic display.

His product’s performance, a super absorbent sanitary napkin, also won over the judges who reviewed about a dozen small business owners who participated in the Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center’s (MIEC) pitch competition Wednesday evening.

Chaleta Wilson, founder of CW Haircare, came in second place behind Crump; and the People’s Choice winner was Ahriana Edwards, CEO of Vaila Shoes, which makes women’s shoes sizes 9-14.

The MIEC’s pitch competition was part of the non-profit's graduation, the culmination of a six-month training program for small business owners operating in the retail trade industry. MIEC partnered with Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), which provided financial support and industry professionals to help counsel the participants. To qualify for the MIEC retail cohort, companies had to have more than $100,000 in annual revenue.

“Programs like this prepare us to scale,” Brian Reynolds, founder and CEO of Just for Teens, told Atlanta Business Chronicle. His company makes personal care products, including facial washes and moisturizers, for pre-teens and teenagers.

By the end of the year, his pimple patches, an adhesive facial acne treatment, will be in 4,500 Dollar General stores. He said a separate contract with a grocery chain will put his products in 1,500 stores.

“This is the first time the company’s mission is bigger than the bottom line,” said Crump, an entrepreneur for more than 30 years, noting the importance of his company’s products for not just the women in his life, but also to “your mothers, daughters and nieces,” he told the audience of about 100 people at the African American Hall of Fame at Morehouse College.

Crump and the other top entrepreneurs in the retail pitch competition won a slot at next month’s All-Star Weekend Popup event at Cumberland Mall. All 30 of the participants received a certificate of completion.

Meanwhile, MIEC is already planning for its next entrepreneurial training session.

“What we do is see where there are gaps where minority businesses are not involved,” Tiffany Bussey, the MIEC’s executive director, told Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The next cohort will be part of MIEC's Ascend program which is a national partnership with IBM. It will focus on the federal government sector, Bussey said, calling it a “bold move,” to aim to fill some of the holes that resulted from mass layoffs under the Trump administration in recent months.

Bussey said opportunities could be in the cyber security, technology and manufacturing sectors.

MIEC will begin accepting applications next week from companies across the country. It will host 30 small businesses for six months beginning in September.