DALLAS/November 20, 2015 – Comerica Bank and the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) announced Fort Worth, Texas-based Eosera, Inc. as the winner of the $50,000 North Texas Business Pitch Contest. Three prominent  judges helped decide the grand prize winner from the field of four finalists, which also included local companies Cause Studio (Dallas), Rent Eval (Dallas) and Sew Chill (Dallas), at a live pitch event hosted at the DEC on Thursday evening, November 19, 2015. This year's contest was focused exclusively on women and minority-owned business entrants.

“For the second year of this contest, the great number of viable submissions, the ways these start-ups marketed themselves and the amount of social media voting we received were all quite impressive,” said Trey Bowles, Co-Founder & CEO of the DEC. “The four finalists all did a great job at pitching their business ideas. Our contest injected $50,000 into Eosera at a crucial point in its business, helping push it to the next level in its development.”

Biotech startup, Eosera, the $50,000 winner, is developing a topical drug to rapidly disintegrate earwax. Accumulation of cerumen (earwax), caused by failure of the body’s self-cleaning mechanism, is one of the most common reasons that patients seek medical care for ear-related problems.  Eosera is working on compositions that will successfully develop an effective treatment to this underserved medical condition and minimize the treatment burden to both doctors and patients.  Eosera has completed in-vitro testing and is currently work with the FDA in preparation for in human clinical trials. Eosera’s successful final business  pitch was delivered by Elyse Dickerson, CEO and co-founder.

“Comerica Bank is proud to partner with the DEC and to provide the $50,000 unrestricted grant for this great contest,” said Gigi Moore, Senior Vice President, International Trade Finance, Comerica Bank, and chair of Comerica’s Texas Women’s Forum. “Our hope is that we help draw attention to the significant contributions to the DFW community from women and minority entrepreneurs, including those who participated at our finals event last evening.”

Some 150 applications were received from local entrepreneurs and startups across North Texas. The field was then whittled down to the top 10 entries as judged by executives from the DEC, Comerica Bank and The People Fund. The final four contestants were determined by social media voting, which garnered more than 17,000 votes.

The final pitch event last evening was one of many such events being held throughout the world in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week (#GEW2015). Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of “the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare,” according to the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

Judging the final pitch event at the DEC were Jonathan Ortmans, President of the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Senior Fellow of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Patricia Kriska, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University; and Charlie Green, Entrepreneur and Owner, Olivella’s Neo Pizza Napoletana.

About the Dallas Entrepreneur Center
The DEC serves entrepreneurs in North Texas, providing them a central hub where they can receive training, education, mentorship, promotion and access to capital in order to encourage and equip the entrepreneurial community to start, build and grow their businesses. Facilitating a culture of entrepreneurship and 'giving before you get', the DEC connects new and old entrepreneurs with a vibrant, collaborative environment. Providing the right tools and resources along with a ripe environment for growth, the Dallas Entrepreneur Center helps entrepreneurs start, build, and grow their business while also working to showcase Dallas as a leader in entrepreneurship in the country.

About Comerica
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $71.0 billion at September 30, 2015. To find us on Facebook, please visit www.facebook.com/ComericaCares. Follow Comerica on Twitter at @ComericaCares and follow Comerica Chief Economist Robert Dye on Twitter at @Comerica_Econ.

Media Contacts:                                                                                                                          

  Comerica Bank                                                                                        Dallas Entrepreneur Center      
  Kyle Tarrance                                                                                             Lauren Zeien
  214.462.6669                                                                                             469.708.9035
  krtarrance@comerica.com                                                                          lauren@thedec.co