The Gift That Actually Helps

The goal is to test, test, test - and wait until you have enough responses to be statistically accurate. It's grueling work, and takes a lot of patience to get it right, but in the end - it's made a HUGE difference.

Her advice is simple: "Research before you build." In this kind of business, research is more than market validation. It shapes the products, the language, the customer experience and the trust required to serve people during a difficult time.

Overland Park entrepreneur Liz Benditt, founder of The Balm Box and a six-time cancer survivor, won first place and $20,000 in Verizon’s Small Business “Super Pitch” competition.

BMO announced today the 2026 U.S. recipients of its BMO Celebrating Women grant program -- an initiative that empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses across the United States to scale growth, advance innovation, and strengthen community impact.

More than 500 small businesses nationwide applied for Verizon’s pitch competition. As the first-place winner, Benditt received $20,000. In preparation for hospital distribution, she'll use the money to increase production of Balm Box's patent-pending surgical drain holder and to defend the patent.

A woman who has fought skin cancer three times has slammed the "tanmaxxing" TikTok trend and begged young people to "learn from my dumb mistakes."

Liz Benditt, founder of The Balm Box in Kansas, celebrates winning Verizon's Small Business Super Pitch contest on July 17.

Having this kind of validation from external forces that you really respect is a phenomenal sense of: I'm on the right path."

“Selected from a nationwide pool of over 500 applicants, she beat out three other stellar finalists in a live Shark Tank-style pitch round. The pitches were evaluated by an elite panel of expert judges, including U.S. soccer legend and entrepreneur Carli Lloyd,” a Verizon spokesperson shared with FOX4.

Liz Benditt, president and CEO of The Balm Box, won the Verizon Small Business Competition at the start of the weekend, earning her company $20,000 and a seat at Sunday's championship match.

Benditt won over the judges by highlighting how she uses Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready AI tools to advance her business and how she utilizes technology to create custom cancer recovery gift boxes based on input from patients.

“From what I hear from the judges and just everyone who attended, she was fabulous. So, we’re really excited to welcome her to the finals event,” she said. “[I] wish the best of luck to her.”

"To me, getting to go to the World Cup is so much about representing Kansas City"

“We’re not going to suffer quality; we’re serving cancer patients. We feel very strongly that we’re a premium product, and we have to make sure that the products that we sell live up to that,”

"You don't have to let your doctor dictate to you," says two-time breast cancer survivor Liz Benditt. "I have found that the doctors who have been the best for me have been those who were really open to two-way conversation."

Benditt now has more freedom in her career than ever before, with unlimited PTO and the flexibility to spend as much time with family and friends as she pleases.

When you ask cancer patients things that they want and need when they're undergoing treatment, it's all functional - lip balm, lotion, functional pillows, and fleece blankets. The things that they don't want, things that get low scores across the board: kicking cancer tote bags, coffee, mugs, worry stones, and inspirational poetry.

The lesson was powerful, though: not every “yes” serves the mission. Growth isn’t about volume — it’s about alignment. I learned that my time and energy have value, and I need to protect both. Leadership is about making choices — learning when and how to say no is a powerful skill.

Gamechangers and Champions 2026 is a “Bracket Bash for Innovators and Angels,” organizers said. The competition is designed to bring together Kansas startups with angel investors and regional venture-capital fund managers — all set amid the excitement of the Men’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament being hosted in Kansas City

In this compelling episode of PharmaShots CXO Talks, we sit down with Liz Benditt, Founder & CEO of Balm Box, to explore how thoughtful innovation is reshaping the patient experience. Liz shares the inspiration behind Balm Box, the strategic vision driving its growth, and how personalized care solutions can create meaningful impact for patients navigating complex health journeys.

"Talk about staying positive!"

Liz Benditt doesn’t do platitudes. She’s a six-time cancer survivor, founder of The Balm Box, mum of two, and a woman who has rebuilt her body and identity more times than most of us can comprehend.

When life delivers a rupture, some women break. Others bend. And a rare few—like Liz Benditt, founder of The Balm Box—rebuild something stronger, more intentional and profoundly meaningful from the pieces.

“We interviewed 500+ patients and caregivers, online, to curate functional care packages for cancer patients,” she said. “It totally validated my business idea, and this huge disconnect between what cancer patients want and what they’re actually getting.”

Liz has faced — and beaten — six different cancer diagnoses, transforming her pain into purpose by creating The Balm Box, a company that redefines what it means to give meaningful, functional gifts to cancer patients.

“The beauty of starting a business this late in life is that you have this network of people you can call upon,” said Benditt, president, founder, and CEO of The Balm Box, an ecommerce company that delivers gift boxes tailored for cancer patients. “I have this incredible network of people that have worked for me, or I have worked for, that I was able to rely on.”

Liz Benditt, CEO of The Balm Box and five-time cancer survivor, champions functional, scent-safe, and reusable gifts over novelty items. She advises wrapping with shipping boxes, choosing artificial trees, and using gentle, unscented products.

Today’s guest is a powerhouse of resilience, innovation, and heart. Liz Benditt is a 6-time cancer survivor turned entrepreneur who took her personal struggles and transformed them into a mission-driven business.

In 2000, Liz Benditt moved from California to Kansas City to be closer to her mother, who was recovering from breast cancer. She fully expected the relocation to be temporary. Twenty years later, she launched The Balm Box, a cancer care package service, from her Leawood home. “Kansas City has taken such amazing care of me and my family,” she says today. “The people I love most are all here—it is my forever home.”