It takes passion, resilience, and boldness to launch a business in any economic climate, good or bad. And in light of today’s unprecedented challenges, small-business owners are showing the world just how necessary these qualities are to bring their ideas to life and affect real change. This optimism and enthusiasm was the highlight of the pitch competition that capped off Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2025. Held in Las Vegas September 4–5, 2025, the event attracted around 3,500 attendees, and featured panels with some of the world’s top business minds, networking sessions, and a pitch competition to empower and celebrate small businesses.
Before the live event, Alibaba.com received nearly 25,000 pitches from businesses across 150 countries. During the final round of the competition in the U.S., 20 entrepreneurs pitched their business with the hope of scoring a grand prize of $200,000 or one of the $40,000 prizes awarded to 10 finalists.
During the competition, a range of small-business owners took the stage to sell the judges on their companies. Their excitement was contagious, even to the judges, as they scrutinized business plans, market size, sourcing, and sales channels.
Daymond John, one of the host judges on Shark Tank and the founder and CEO of FUBU, introduced each entrepreneur as they took the stage. The panel of judges featured Simu Liu, actor, writer, and investor; Lori Greiner, inventor, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and a star of Shark Tank; Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter; Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Inc. and Fast Company; and Justin Liu, general manager of Alibaba.com North America.
The CoCreate U.S. winners and finalists
REEKON Tools Inc. was the CoCreate Pitch grand prize winner in the U.S. cohort. The companymakes digital measuring tools paired with powerful software for capturing data from home improvement projects and construction sites and organizing it automatically.
The top 10 finalists of CoCreate Pitch 2025 U.S. edition:
Best Dam Tape makes premium sports tape engineered for maximum durability and grip, with a focus on the hockey industry.
BirdieBlue turns retired ski and snowboard gear into stylish, water-resistant lifestyle bags. The company has saved more than 8,000 pieces of technical apparel from landfills since 2022.
Club Girl Golf has created a golf club engineered specifically for women, featuring a patented adjustable weighting system and a free online fitting tool.
Joe & Bella creates stylish, easy-dressing clothing with concealed magnetic closures for people with mobility or cognitive challenges—without sacrificing style.
Never Have I Ever Shop is an instant beauty brand that turns art and culture IP into ready-to-wear glam accessories like press-on nails, face and body adornments, and tooth gems.
Pangoo Apparel launched with a line of technical rock-climbing pants designed for women’s bodies and plans to expand into additional outdoor apparel for women.
Pluie, Inc. has reimagined the diaper changing experience for parents and caregivers on the go with Pluie, the world’s first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table for public restrooms, and Pluie Pret Changing Mat.
Super Blanky, LLC makes the plush, hands-free, stay-on throw blankets popular on TikTok and plans to roll out the Super Towel, a wearable beach towel.
SWIFF created a spray product designed to effectively eliminate and prevent odors and germs, providing long-lasting freshness and protection for apparel, upholstery, and household items.
Vonu created the Burplee, a patented infant lounger designed to relieve gas, reflux, and fussiness while promoting safe, supported tummy time and upper body development.
Must-have takeaways and entrepreneurial advice from the judges
After the finalists were announced, the judges came back onstage to offer their best pieces of advice to the entrepreneurs.
Everette Taylor urged the entrepreneurs to listen to their customers. “Continue to champion your customers,” he said. “Listen to them; invest in the areas they’re telling you that you need to invest in.”
Justin Liu reminded the entrepreneurs of the adage “the only constant is change” and how it applies to business.
“One of the most important qualities of a good entrepreneur is the ability to learn and master new tools,” Liu said, noting that powerful AI capabilities are now more accessible to small-business owners through tools like Alibaba.com’s newly released Accio Agent. “As the owner of your business and the owner of this budget, it is everybody’s responsibility to master how to use these tools and make better decisions.”
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What’s next for the winner
Christian Reed,the entrepreneur behind REEKON Tools, impressed the judges with his digital measuring tools, including his flagship T1R Range Digital Tape Measure, which combines a digital display, laser measurement, and sensors to auto-capture 3D dimensions and sync data with REEKON software. Right after being announced as the winner, he said he’s excited to create even more and put the prize money to work in the company’s research and development (R&D) efforts.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do than make tools, make new products,” Reed said after the announcement. “The idea to now have more capital that we can reinvest in the company, make new products, and help making things just fuels the fire.”
Reed, who has been using Alibaba.com to source supplies and connect with vendors for 12 years, believes the platform has been a contributing factor to the company’s success in finding manufacturers around the world to build his products, particularly in Asia. “Alibaba.com is the gateway to making new products,” he said. “We’re always starting searches on there [and] interacting with vendors. For R&D, maybe it’s prototypes, maybe we’re buying a quantity of 20 for something, and then [the site helps us] transition to making a hundred thousand of something. Being able to expand the broadness of [our operations on] the platform, we appreciate the flexibility it offers.”
What the future holds for Alibaba.com’s CoCreate
While the U.S. iteration of the competition is over, leaders at the global supplier believe that the passion and innovation shown at this year’s CoCreate Pitch competition offered a clear window into the state of entrepreneurship today. “We congratulate not only the grand prize winner and top 10 finalists, but also all the semi-finalists who pitched live in Las Vegas, standing out from 25,000 applications,” said Liz Wang, global head of commercial strategy at Alibaba.com. “The entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of small business shown by every participant embody the values Alibaba.com has always championed. We also look forward to CoCreate Pitch European edition in London this autumn.”
The European installment of the CoCreate Pitch final will take place on November 14 in London, and applications close on October 15. As with the U.S. competition, entrepreneurs can apply by submitting a 30-second video on Instagram or TikTok with the hashtag #CoCreatePitch and tagging @Alibaba.com_official, or by applying directly at pitch.alibabacocreate.com.