As part of a continued effort to showcase the bustling activity of Philadelphia area technology entrepreneurs, the community unveiled 40+ startup stories in the form of 60-second elevator pitches, now available on the Philly Startup Leaders channel on Philly in Focus. Check out the 60-second Pitch Project at http://www.phillyinfocus.com/channel/60-second-pitch-project/

Philly Startup Leaders present: Entrepreneur Expo April 24, 2012 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, at The Westin, 99 S. 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. RSVP HERE to attend Over 40 entrepreneurs will display their dreams, ideas and hard work in a trade-show like setting.

Great Things are Happening in Philadelphia! On October 26, 2012, Mayor Michael Nutter announced the formation of StartUP PHL with a nice shoutout to Philly Startup Leaders. PSL's own President, Bob Moul, was a member of the announcement team. Below are Bob's remarks and a video of the Mayor's announcement.

We have been telling you to save the date because BIG things were coming. We hope you already have November 15th blocked off on your calendar, because you do not want to miss Founder Factory 2012!   Tickets will be open to only PSL members until October 15th, so get yours quick! After October 15th, we will open ticket sales to the general public.  So, why do you NEED to be at Founder Factory?

THANK YOU to all 100+ of you who braved the heat and the threat of torrential thunderstorms to come out to the PSL Summer BBQ Bash! Check out the photos here.     From the feedback we have received so far, the event was a major success. Everyone got a chance to catch up with old friends and make some new ones and I hear rumors that a few business deals might even have been made last night. Again, the PSL Leadership team wants to thank everyone for coming and a special THANKS goes out to our sponsors Morgan's Pier for hosting 100+ tech entrepreneurs under their "roof" and for making special arrangements for the possibly inclement weather Morgan Lewis, ZivTech, SemperCon and Weber Law for buying everyone a beer! LTL Prints for our signs and nametags. Uber Philly for the discounted rides. If you did not take an Uber car last night, you should have! No better way to arrive and/or leave a party or a meeting on time and in style! Our prize sponsors - Uber, ManCave Kingdom, SeedPhilly and Benjamin's Desk. We wish we could have awarded the prizes that night, but we felt it was better to just let everyone keep networking. So, here are the prize winners!! $50 in Uber credits goes to Matt Tanzer Two (1 each) seriously cool BBQ sets from ManCave Kingdom go to Dan Kelley and Phil Ives A free one month membership to SeedPhilly goes to Staci Bender A free one month membership to Benjamin's Desk goes to Ana DeSousa And now for more big news!!  Save The Date - November 15th! Founder Factory 2012 - Where Startups Are Built  Watch the list serve for more details coming soon! If you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering for Founder Factory, please contact Gloria Bell or Patty Tawadros. Thanks again everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all at a PSL or other entrepreneur event soon!!

Last Monday was the kickoff event for PSL University, a new series of events featuring high-profile leaders from the Philadelphia start-up community.  These speakers have learned by doing and offer practical advice to entrepreneurs who are “in the trenches” building businesses. The event was graciously hosted by Venturef0rth and attracted a standing room only crowd.  Speakers Gabe Weinberg (DuckDuckGo), Peter Ritz (Xtium) and Darren Hill (Weblinc) gave insights and advice on the topic of customer development. Attendees learned valuable lessons on forming a customer development strategy, cultivating a loyal customer base, targeting the right markets, and more.  The event was concluded with a Q&A session where entrepreneurs in attendance could further pick the brains of the panel.   More photos are available here (courtesy of PSLer Gloria Bell).  Videos of our speakers’ presentations can be found below (courtesy of PSLer Cliff Stevens): Darren Hill Peter Ritz Gabe Weinberg PSL would like to thank everyone who came out for the event, especially our speakers, for joining us. For more tips and information on customer development, click through to the videos below, courtesy of Steve Blank and Startup Weekend. Customer Development In 54 Hours with Steve Blank (Part 1 | Part 2) Check back on the events page for future PSL University dates and times.

Summer is here, and that means it's time for PSL's Annual Summer BBQ Bash! This year we're headed to Morgan's Pier on the waterfront. They have amazing food, a view of the river and misting fans in case the temperature is unbearable. And the best part? Your PSL friends! Buy your tickets now!

Philly Startup Leaders is excited to announce the first official “PSL University” Event on Monday, July 9th at 6:30PM at Venturef0rth (417 North 8th Street, Philadelphia PA 19123). RSVP Here (space is limited): http://psl.ticketleap.com/psl-university-customer-development/

The Philly startup tech community is exploding yet finding the right talent remains a challenge. UNCUBED, more job party than job fair, is coming to Philadelphia for the first time outside of New York City to help companies meet with their next hires. The event — to be held on June 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with an after-party until 7 p.m.) at World Cafe Live — matches talent from programming, design, marketing, business development and other skill sets with hiring startups.  The event is produced by Wakefield —a media company known for its popular daily email on startups—in conjunction with Philly Startup Leaders.

From Bob Moul, President, Philly Startup Leaders May 28, 2012 Here is a summary of the progress we’ve made over the last quarter as well as plans for upcoming events and programming for the next quarter.