Nicolas Ciminiello, Contributing Photographer

Community members, investors and small business owners gathered at Southern Connecticut State University’s business school on Thursday evening to hear pitches from five local entrepreneurs competing for prizes ranging from $3,000 to $7,500.

The annual Pitch Night, created by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s Mission Investments Company, seeks to provide funding and support for small businesses serving the community of New Haven.

“Main Street should not be forgotten,” Joe Williams, the managing director of the Mission Investments Company, said in an interview. “I don’t care if you’re a bodega, food truck, barbershop — you should have opportunity just like everyone else to scale up.”

The competing entrepreneurs took the stage and presented their ventures in front of a live audience and a panel of judges. The winner, Malby Artisan Bread and Pastries on Whalley Avenue, received $7,500, while the two runners-up received $4,500 and $3,000, respectively.

The contestants each pitched for three minutes, followed by a three-minute question-and-answer session with the audience.

Each pitch featured an already active business that hoped to use prize money to scale up some aspect of their production. Most of the businesses serve consumers seeking natural or homemade products.

Sana Shaikh, a business development specialist for the Mission Investments Company, saw that as an indication that people were interested in turning their poor experiences with corporate brands into an opportunity.

“People are using their lived experiences to — instead of complaining, thinking how to make things better,” Shaikh said. “How do I take my agency back to make a business and create a footprint in the city?”

The contestants included Interruptions, a mental health peer-to-peer counseling program; Kween Konnie Loving Our Crown, a natural hair care products and styling business; Tailends Studios, a sustainable fashion company; Tierra Soap Co, a handmade artisanal soap company, and Malby Artisan Bread and Pastries.

In the end, the judges awarded the prizes to Malby Artisan Bread and Pastries, Kween Konnie Loving Our Crown and Tailends Studios, in that order.

Malby’s owner, Karla Tejada Arias, said she was grateful for the opportunity. She said she planned to use the money to buy bigger equipment and increase production.

“Once you get support from the community like this, then you can only thrive,” Arias said.

Malby Artisan Bread and Pastries is located at 912 Whalley Ave.