Progress Report: Philly Startup Leaders' 5-Year Vision

In its ongoing mission to support the growth of current and future founders in Philadelphia and beyond, Philly Startup Leaders is proud to have absorbed a few nuggets of wisdom from our community. One thing we learned from Isabelle Kent’s Spring 2021 Listening Tour was just how important that sense of community is, and the ways in which we have risen to the occasion as an organization—and also where, at times, we fell short—in providing a space for innovators to thrive.

In August of 2021, we released our ambitious 5-Year Vision for PSL. In looking at where we are going, it was critical to look at where we have been, and to make sure to take our learnings with us as we reimagine the future. We are grateful for you, our community, and the ways you have shown up to help bring this vision to life. Read on for an update on our 5-Year Vision and how you can get involved in helping to support PSL and our founders:

PSL CONNECT

When we launched PSL Connect last summer, we saw it as more than a free resource for Philly-area founders; it’s an easy-to-navigate digital platform where founders can share more about what they are working on and receive help when they need it. The opportunity for service providers to become more involved, investors to be able to have a bird’s-eye view of the companies and founders that make Philly’s innovation ecosystem shine, and for mentors to be of service to early-stage founders led us to build this platform, powered by RamenLife.

There are nearly 1000 people, over 250 startups and 26 mentors. Our community members have listed over 300 events, 30+ jobs, and have added over 900 FREE resources for startups.

If you are a Philly-area startup founder, volunteer mentor, or investor, we invite you to create your FREE founder and startup profile on PSL Connect, so you can create connections, promote collaboration, grow your business by increasing visibility, and help us tell your story on a global stage by sharing critical milestones in your success.

Service providers and consultants, we know you have always been an integral part of the community and want to ensure you continue to have the opportunity to showcase your skills. Amplify your company on PSL Connect by creating a Service Provider Profile, and listing your company on the Startup Guide!

We are in the process of adding private groups and discussion channels, and even more discounts and resources. If you are an area company looking to provide resources or discounts to the Philly Startup Leaders community, and to be listed in the Startup Guide and PSL Connect, please reach out to engage@phillystartupleaders.org.

 

WELCOME WAGON

Since launching on the first Wednesday in September 2021, PSL’s Welcome Wagon events have grown into a monthly staple for founders, executives, freelancers, remote workers, investors, service providers, mentors and ecosystem partners to gather informally, hear about what’s happening in Philly’s innovation scene, make new connections and create a deeper sense of community with one another.

Stats

  • We have hosted 10 Welcome Wagon Events since last year;

    • 2 events were held virtually; the rest were in person events;

    • 2 events were merged with existing networking or PSL programming, namely Founded in Philly Graduation and Holiday Mixer and DiversiTechFest/Entrepreneur Expo;

  • PSL and partners have welcomed a total of 294 guests across the 8 Welcome Wagon events in the series, plus:

    • Graduation & Holiday Mixer - 49 attendees

    • Entrepreneur Expo - 714 registrants, over 450 check-ins

  • We have hosted events across the city, and are so grateful to all of our hosts:

Who Can You Meet at Welcome Wagon?

 

Photo Credit: Desi Brown

 

GLOBAL IDENTITY

As the nucleus of the startup ecosystem here in Philly, we know it’s up to us to lead the charge and envision what a global strategy looks like for our community. In the past year alone, we have started to invite speakers, mentors, investors, founders, service providers and partners from all over the globe, so that we can attract interested parties to the innovation sector and build upon our legacy.

Local Office Space with Global Reach

Recently, Philly Startup Leaders announced a 2022 partnership with, and new home at, Mindspace Wanamaker. The company’s global reach—with over 30 locations in 7 countries and counting— and innovative vision provides a perfect starting point for our Welcome Wagon attendees; an inspiring backdrop for PSL’s signature Founder Factory event, and an elevated location for global partnership discussions.

Partnership with Citizen Diplomacy International of Philadelphia

In May 2022, we joined CDI of Philadelphia in welcoming 7 Fellows from Europe for a U.S. Department of State-sponsored month-long fellowship to connect with local organizations that are in similar fields. As leaders with established companies themselves, the Fellows benefitted from the connections they make here, as well as contribute to their local placement companies.

We assisted in placement of several of the Fellows within Philly’s innovation sector, and welcomed Hanna-Liis Remmelg , business manager for Tartu Science Park in Estonia, to the PSL team for the duration of this program. The mutual exchange of ideas on a global scale is a great way to begin establishing mutually-beneficial partnerships across ecosystems and PSL is proud to have taken part in this program.

PSL is proud to continue partnering with CDI Philadelphia, and welcomed CDI/YTILI’s Women of Global Impact Delegation to Mindspace on July 27th to discuss collaboration opportunities across ecosystems and why Philadelphia is the perfect place to launch your US Presence.

Collision 2022

PSL’s Executive Director, Isabelle Kent, attended Collision on behalf of Philly Startup Leaders’ membership. Known as North America’s Fastest Growing Tech Conference, the Toronto-based convention returned in person for the first time since the pandemic.

  • Stats:

  • 35,562 Attendees from 130 countries, including:

  • 1557 Startups

  • 793 Investors

  • 1200+ Journalists

At the conference, Isabelle developed and strengthened significant partnerships with over 80 organizations, government entities and enterprise companies, and has made strides in moving all facets of our 5-year vision forward.

As ambassadors of our great city’s innovation scene, we look forward to continuing to build on this foundation in the months and years to come.

Philly Startup Leaders