GROWING THE PHILADELPHIA startup COMMUNITY
Philly Startup Leaders mission is to help current and future founders succeed in philadelphia and beyond
We envision Philadelphia to be a place where everyone can achieve their entrepreneurial potential as part of a collaborative and innovative startup community.
We hold ourselves to a high standard of consistent growth and progress that can set up future generations of Philadelphia startups for success.
Our goals
Increase the number of entrepreneurs in Philadelphia
Grow the number of startups positively impacted by the community
Help create a positive perception of Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem
Our Values
Collaboration
We care about progress, not credit. PSL is committed to working collaboratively with other organizations in our community, and we will always prioritize results over recognition.
Transparency
Focus
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We believe that every Philadelphian should have the opportunity to participate in our city’s growing startup ecosystem, and will proactively invest to create such opportunities. Our events, programming, and content will be designed and executed inclusively, and those involved will be representative of the city in which we live.
Philly Startup Leaders began in September of 2007 when a small, loosely-knit community of Philadelphia entrepreneurs decided to meet up on a regular basis to help each other.
PSL was originally founded as an all-volunteer grassroots effort and eventually grew into a sustainable 501c3 non-profit organization.
PSL has grown into a community of thousands of entrepreneurs and serves as an integral resource in the startup ecosystem.
PSL relies heavily on volunteers, sponsors, and stakeholders to support events, programs, and networking in the community.
Board of Directors
Antonia Dean
Director of STartup Pipeline Diversity,
Comcast NBCUniversal
Michelle Berkoben
partner,
wipfli
Mercedes Ballard
Founder & Talent Advisor,
Heristic
Daniel Gardner
CEo, Gardner Capital Group
Past Board of Directors and Advisors include:
Aaron McLean, AJ Bruno, Aurora Archer, Anna Greenwald, Blake Jennelle, Bob Moore, Bob Moul, Brad Denenberg, Brianna Wronko, Brigitte Daniel, Brock Weatherup, Chris Cera, Chris Wink, Colin Evans, Cristina Greysman, Danielle Cohn, Doug Bellenger, Emily Foote, Frank Koehl, Gabe Weinberg, Gloria Bell, Jameson Detweiler, Jennifer Maher, Jon Gosier, Josh Kopelman, Liz Brown, Luke Butler, Keenan Corrigan, Kiera Smalls, Mark Switaj, Melissa Lee, Mikal Harden, Morgan Berman, Neil Kleinman, Patricia Tawadros, Prasanna Krishnan, Rick Nucci, Steve Goodman*, Tiffanie Stanard, Tim Raybould, Todd Outten, Tracey Welson-Rossman, Wil Reynolds, and Yuval Yarden.
*deceased