Go Behind the Scenes of the Founded in Philly Virtual Lightning Pitch Night
ABOUT PITCH NIGHT
The halfway point of each accelerator program is the lightning pitch night, where the founders have their first chance to pitch in front of a panel of investors, who donate their time to assist in evaluating the lightning pitches and providing key feedback to each of the founders.
The team at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA was an asset in helping each founder prepare for their 3-minute pitch. As part of the program BFTP’s Rick Genzer led a virtual pitch prep workshop, where the founders could ask questions about the process, get to know an investor’s perspective, and play-test ideas.
For this pitch, each founder pitched for 3 minutes, and the judges had 5 minutes for feedback. This session is meant to strengthen their pitch muscles, provide a safe space to discuss their companies with investors, and give them a chance to cheer one another on in the process. Read below for more details about the event.
Supporting judges
We were thrilled to receive interest about the program from investors across concentrations. It was important to the PSL team, especially the Director of Programs, that the investors represented have experience in investing in the industries they are evaluating. Please note that not all investors who evaluated are pictured here; we appreciate each and every one of these experts for donating their time:
Rick Genzer
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Marc Kramer
Private Investor’s Forum
Evan Cannon
Osage Venture Partners
MINA MISHRIKEY
Meridia Capital Holdings
Roger J. Braunfeld
Royer Cooper Cohen & Braunfeld
james massaquoi
Osage Venture Partners
Jennifer piro
The Cannabis Syndicate
Skip Shuda
Green Rush Advisors
Mark Trabbold
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Frank Manganella
3A Ventures
Tiara Durham
Founders First Capital Partners
Susan Yee
Broad Street Angels
The Feedback
We divided the 17 founders from 2 cohorts into separate breakout rooms for their pitches. Overall, the investors and the PSL team were blown away by the pitches, and the cohort found the feedback valuable at this critical time. Below are just some of the takeaways from the session:
Very helpful feedback from the investors. It was helpful to hear how they saw my business so differently than I did. New perspective.
- Jeannie Stith, Color Guru
I tried a new deck and different points of emphasis for this shorter pitch knowing that I would get feedback and it's helpful to see what landed and what didn't.
- Julia Loni Turner, NEKKTAR
{The feedback made me} realize there's a need for clarification…It makes me keep sight on pivoting to find alternative applications for the technology if needed and focused on developing proof cases.
- Dyshaun Hines, METRODAO
This confirmed our need to connect with growers and talk through some of the potential hurdles we face in commercial and consumer adoption of our system.
- Drew Jordan, CANNISTER
{The Investors} asked us to factor in the other industries which can use our device. It made me think of all the ways we can make narrative different to make it more compelling.
- Sudipti Attri, AlgaSci
At the end of the accelerator program, be sure to attend the 2022 Entrepreneur Expo to meet the current cohorts in person. Register for your donation-based ticket to stay informed. If you would like to connect directly with any of our founders, please reach out to engage@phillystartupleaders.org and we will make the introduction.