PHILADELPHIA’S BUSTLING TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY UNVEILS 60-SECOND PITCH PROJECT WITH PHILLY IN FOCUS JUST IN TIME FOR PHILLY TECH WEEK

Philadelphia…April 18, 2013…As part of a continued effort to showcase the bustling activity of Philadelphia area technology entrepreneurs, the community today unveiled 40+ startup stories in the form of 60-second elevator pitches, now available on the Philly Startup Leaders channel on www.PhillyInFocus.com.

“We are proud to support the entrepreneurs in this region and offer an important platform for their storytelling,” said Bill Kettleson, Regional Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs at Comcast Cable.

Philly In Focus is a Comcast/NBCUniversal, local multimedia platform dedicated to supporting the people, businesses and organizations in Philadelphia. The more than 40 initial stories were captured by Philly In Focus, and the most engaged videos on the channel, based on views and social media activity, may appear on Xfinity On Demand.

“The idea behind the videos is to continue to build a warehouse of easy to access information about the Philadelphia entrepreneurial community that will inspire press coverage, and motivate other entrepreneurs, potential investors, and support organizations to build businesses right here in Philadelphia,” said Philly Startup Leaders President Bob Moul, CEO of Artisan, a growing mobile company founded and based in Old City.

A number of organizations will feature the videos, including Select Greater Philadelphia during an international innovation press tour of the region this week, the City of Philadelphia’s Startup PHL project, Philly Startup Leaders, Philly Founded and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, among others. A coordinated social media campaign will push the stories out over the next few weeks.

Check out the 60-second Pitch Project at http://www.phillyinfocus.com/channel/60-second-pitch-project/
If you are a Philadelphia startup, you can submit your 60-second pitch to the channel by contacting Philly Startup Leaders or Philly Founded who helped lead the project.

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About Philly Startup Leaders (PSL): The mission of PSL is to provide support, resources and inspiration to tech-focused startup entrepreneurs and to foster the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem of the greater Philadelphia region. PSL was founded in 2007 by an entrepreneur and exists as an active network of more than 500 business founders and executives, venture capitalists, angel investors, college and university professors, business executives and City officials. In addition to the Entrepreneur Expo, PSL organizes the fall Founder Factory and partners with other organizations in the region to move the technology community forward. PSL can be found empowering the entrepreneurial community in Philadelphia, the Smart City for Startups, everyday at www.PhillyStartUpLeaders.org.

About Philly In Focus: Philly In Focus is a multimedia platform dedicated to connecting the Philadelphia community through the video and interactive media of its groups, institutions and programs. Philly In Focus is part of Project Open Voice (POV), a pilot program from Comcast/NBCUniversal that brings organizations together across web, mobile, social media and cable television outlets. For more information, please visit www.phillyinfocus.com.

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.

Who Should Attend?

This is a showcase of work by tech entrepreneurs and the technology entrepreneurial community. If you’re an entrepreneur, you will be able to talk about your work and hear about the work of others. If you’re interested in new ideas, new business plans, the uses of new technology, or are simply curious about the creative energy in this region, you’ll have a chance to see and meet those beginning to make a difference.

Who Will Be There?

Entrepreneurs, students, educators, investors, leaders in the political, legal, and business communities, members of the media, and the public. Register to attend

What Should You Expect?

Get ready for a vibrant scene of entrepreneurs eager to talk about their work and interact with you. Expect to see and hear about innovative new ideas and connect with like-minded individuals.

Get excited about the future. Get excited about the entrepreneurial spirit of Philadelphia. Come to the Entrepreneur Expo. Come and see tomorrow, today

For Press Inquiries or General Questions: Contact Gloria Bell at (215) 645-2308 or redstaplerconsulting@gmail.com.

Bob Moul Comments

StartupPHL Press Conference

October 26, 2012

Thank you Alan.  Welcome back Mr. Mayor.  This is a great day for Philadelphia and it is surely a great day for Philadelphia entrepreneurs.

There’s a Chinese proverb I love that goes something like “those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are already doing it.” Well, this Mayor and this administration know how to get things done.   The entrepreneurs in this city know how to get things done.  And working together I know we will get even more things done.

Mr. Mayor, Alan, John, I can’t speak for all of our entrepreneurs but I know I speak for most when I say “thank you”.  We thank you for believing in us and we thank you for supporting us as we launch and grow the next generation of businesses in this great city.

Philadelphia’s entrepreneurs are fiercely independent and remarkably resilient.  When you ask them why they’re here, they’ll tell you that ultimately, it’s because they love this City.  It’s hard to put your finger on just what makes us unique among other places, but at its core, Philly offers the best opportunity to quality of life ratio of any major city.  As Alex Hillman once said “it’s the kind of place your spouse would want you to start a business.”

But no business community is an island.  We are in the City and we are of the City.  And while no entrepreneur believes that a City can solve all of their problems, we do know it can certainly help.  It can help by being a catalyst.  It can help by removing roadblocks and barriers.  And it can help by selectively and responsibly investing in areas where challenges may be holding back our growth.

Seed funding is one of those areas where a spark can help make all the difference.  We’ve had a stunning $1 billion worth of companies move to other cities in search of financing in the past five years.  $1 billion!  Think of the jobs that would have created.  Think of the momentum that would have created.  And think of the serial entrepreneurs and angel investors and mentors that would have gone on to build and fuel and fund the future generations of companies in our community.

It can still be done.  The City has given us an enormous opportunity.  It’s up to us now to make the most of it.  If I have one hope for this community it is that we will rally behind this announcement today, break down our stovepipes, and realize the future that’s ours for the taking…

To the critics who would say you’re not Silicon Valley or you’re not New York City we say you’re right.  And as an entrepreneur, I’m thankful we’re not.  Because we are so much more than that.  We’re here and we stay here because we want to build businesses that matter…  businesses that last.  We are admittedly… decidedly… and defiantly Philadelphia.  Thank you.  And thanks again Mr. Mayor.

I want to introduce you now to Khushboo Shah – a local entrepreneur who is hard at work building her first startup in Philadelphia.  I had the pleasure of being a mentor to Khushboo when she came through the MADV program at Temple and I’ve watched over the past year as she’s struggled to get her company off the ground.  I asked her to tell her story today because in many ways it epitomizes the journey of all entrepreneurs at one stage or another.  Khushboo…

Mayor Michael Nutter announces the formation of StartUp PHL -

Mayor Michael Nutter, StartUp PHL launch

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!!

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.

Our topic will be customer development and we have lined up an amazing set of speakers. Details are below.

What is PSL University?

Topics You Care About — We’ve surveyed the PSL community to identify the topics that you care about most. Each event is designed to deliver practical advice in the topics that matter to the community.

All-Star Speakers — PSL University features high-profile leaders from the Philadelphia start-up community. These speakers have learned by doing. They will offer practical advice to entrepreneurs who are “in the trenches” building businesses.

Advice You Can Use — PSL University events are designed to provide practical advice that entrepreneurs can put to work as soon as they walk out the door.

Our First Topic: Customer Development

How do you find and engage passionate customers? How do you scale that base to build a true success story? What mistakes should you avoid along the way?

This PSL University event will feature presentations from three of our community’s most successful entrepreneurs, each of whom will provide unique perspectives informed by their unique experiences in customer development.

Darren Hill is the co-founder and CEO of Weblinc, one of the nation’s leading ecommerce companies. Weblinc has a rich 18 year history in Philadelphia and a client base of major national brands. Darren will share the lessons he’s learned about scaling a base of loyal customers in an industry known for high-touch relationships and project-based work.

Peter Ritz is the co-founder of Xtium, a leading “private cloud” virtual hosting, recovery and infrastructure provider. In his decades-long career, he has led over a half-dozen other successful technology companies. On the heels of Xtium’s recent $11.5 Million funding round, Peter will discuss how an influx of capital can impact customer development strategy and the potential pitfalls it can bring.

Gabe Weinberg is the founder and CEO of search engine DuckDuckGo and an active angel investor. DuckDuckGo boasts an large, growing, and active base of passionate users. Gabe will share lessons he has learned developing a large user base in a highly competitive consumer industry with highly entrenched competitors.

Each speaker will provide a 15-minute presentation on the subject of customer development. The event will end with a moderated panel discussion and Q&A session.

Please RSVP for this event as space will be limited: http://psl.ticketleap.com/psl-university-customer-development/

“Wakefield chose Philadelphia as its first non-New York location due to the burgeoning startup community and the need for such an event,” said Wakefield Co-founder Tarek Pertew.

UNCUBED features music, an open bar, ping-pong and local food. In other words, it’s fun — and brings the community together for more than just rapid-fire interviews and resume trading. UNCUBED made headlines in NYC as the largest and most entertaining recruiting event in the city and has led to hires by dozens of startups, saving the community significant recruiting costs and helping to fuel the next wave of growth.

“The entrepreneurial activity in Philadelphia is on the national radar, which is why UNCUBED chose Philadelphia for their first event outside of New York City,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “The City of Philadelphia and its many partners are working closely to incubate and grow these companies, which have the potential to generate jobs and business opportunities for Philadelphians and people across the region.”

Bob Moul, President of Philly Startup Leaders and CEO of appRenaissance, a startup located in Old City, added, “The Philadelphia region’s startup community is on the rise and Philly Startup Leaders is thrilled to be partnering with Wakefield’s UNCUBED event to showcase the creativity and exciting career opportunities at our tech startups.”

UNCUBED’s sponsor partners currently include Philadelphia startups Monetate and appRenaissance as well the influential NYC-based company Stack Exchange. Details and event registration can be found at www.getuncubed.com.

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.

1.       In consultation with the PSL advisory board and leadership team, agreed on an updated mission statement for PSL: The mission of PSL is to provide support, resources and inspiration to tech-focused startup entrepreneurs and to foster the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem of the greater Philadelphia region.

2.       We also confirmed the three main focus areas for PSL programs / partnerships:

a.       Resources (where to find space, talent, capital, mentors /advisors etc.)

b.      Education (PSL University)

c.       Connectivity (Circles, events, clubs, partnerships etc.)

3.       Josh Kopelman and Gabe Weinberg have agreed to join the PSL Board of Directors.  The board now consists of me, Chris Cera, Josh, Gabe and one open seat to be filled.

4.       Partnered with PACT to deliver the first Phorum conference at World Café Live in March.  The conference themes were cloud computing and mobility and was attended by roughly 400 CxOs.  Feedback was universally very positive.

5.       Delivered the 4^th annual Entrepreneur Expo with 40 companies exhibiting and 500+ registrants.  The feedback on this event was also universally positive.  Huge thank you to Gloria Bell and team for organizing.

6.       Helped to bring Lean Startup Machine to Philadelphia (hosted by VentureF0rth) including help with event marketing, presentations and coaching by PSL members.  Mayor Michael Nutter gave a talk during the three-day weekend event.  Lean will be returning to Philly later this summer or early fall so watch for details.

7.       Supported Select Greater Philadelphia by giving a talk on Philly Startup Leaders and the Philly startup scene in general to its international representatives during a conference at Quorum.  These representatives live in their home countries around the world and work to recruit businesses to move to Philadelphia.

8.       Tracey Welson-Rossman organized and hosted a meeting to introduce startups to Select Greater Philadelphia so they could gain a better understanding of the types of startups in the region and the tech clusters which have or are forming in Philly.

9.       Supported an Angel Investor education event at Quorum on opportunities in the Mobile space.  This is an ongoing series by Quorum to help Angel investors better understand emerging technologies and potential investment opportunities.

10.   Danielle Cohn who heads PSL’s PR / communications formed a “communications circle” which includes key PR/communications personnel from such organizations as the Mayor’s office, PIDC, Select Greater Philadelphia, universities and news journals / publications.  This group, which has already met four times, is hard at work on a variety of initiatives to promote the Philly startup community both locally and nationally.  Kudos to Danielle for her efforts thus far. (Don’t forget to take the media outreach survey if you haven’t already at http://bit.ly/LxgYLW).

11.   Bob Moore is hard at work organizing the first several installments of PSL University.  He conducted a survey on potential topics and used this feedback to prioritize the sessions.  As I said in my last update, we recognize that other groups in the region provide various types of education / training (kudos in particular to the accelerators and incubators) and we will seek to not duplicate.  That said, we want to hone in on practical / pragmatic education to help make us all more successful and productive entrepreneurs.  The first session in the series is planned for June.  Stay tuned for more details.

12.   Joel Frisch is taking the lead on our “beta testers” program in partnership with PACT.  The goal is to work with later stage companies to provide “market validation / testing / feedback” (customer development) which is critical for startups.  They are currently working on a pilot.  Stay tuned.

13.   We are working with Wakefield to bring the “Uncubed” job fair / party to World Café Live on June 21.  Fees for startups to exhibit depend on company size (ranging from $200 – $750) and there are also sponsorship opportunities as well.  Uncubed was a huge success in NYC with startups like Spotify, Tumblr, Meetup, and shutterstock participating.  Interested parties should contact Tarek Pertew at tpertew@gmail.com.

14.   Work is progressing on organizing the annual summer BBQ as well as this year’s Founder’s Forum.  Watch for more details here.

15.   We lost our excellent leader of the PSL “Circles” program, Brian Glick, to increased job duties which includes substantial travel.  We are looking for a replacement.  Let me know if you are interested.  I need someone who is very organized, detail oriented, positive and friendly who can dedicate 5 – 10 hours a week (at least initially to get going) and I would prefer someone with hands-on startup experience.

16.   We will be launching a periodic “new members coffee hour” soon as a way of welcoming new folks to PSL and getting them oriented.

17.   I am organizing a cross-community meeting along with Chris Cera and Brad Oyler to discuss the feasibility of a shared community directory / database.  Thanks to the many folks who have volunteered to help.  I have now met with most of the key community stakeholders initially and our first meeting is in June.  Keep you posted.

A lot of people have commented on the renewed “buzz” in Philly’s startup community.  I hope this note demonstrates PSL’s commitment to working collaboratively in the community on the fundamentals needed for real, sustained growth and vitality and not just to be cheerleaders of the cause (although we need this as well in my view).  At the end of the day though, the real credit goes to our region’s entrepreneurs because without you and the risks you take and your endless hours of toil, your frustrations and failures, your triumphs and successes, we wouldn’t need PSL or any of the other support organizations in town.  You guys rock.

Happy Memorial Day,

Bob