Although there was no prize money or investors waiting for them in the winners’ circle, nearly 100 of the region’s early-stage companies entered this summer’s inaugural Stellar StartUps competition presented by the Philadelphia Media Network, writes Diane Mastrull for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Last week’s awards event at the new Pennovation Center in West Philadelphia was headlined by serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Josh Kopelman.

“The Philadelphia community has embraced entrepreneurship,” said Kopelman, the chairman of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of the Inquirer and Daily News. “And our start-up community has never been more vibrant or active as it is today.”

Arcadian Telepsychiatry of Fort Washington, a provider of video-enabled mental-health services, was one of six winners in the competition.

The three-and-half-year-old company has a national network of 180 therapists and psychiatrists providing help via a videoconferencing platform designed largely to treat patients in a primary-care setting.

With $1 million in revenue and major health plans among the company’s customers, founder and CEO Rob Plotkin plans to seek additional funding, in part to acquire other digital-health firms.

“We have a unique model that with all the pieces put together, nobody is close to doing,” said Plotkin, 52, whose father’s suicide when he was 10 inspired the venture. “I want to show my children that you can be an entrepreneur and do good work.”

Click here to read more about the Stellar StartUps competition in the Philadelphia Inquirer.