MAY 2021

BY ANDREW BOTT

EVENT ASSISTANTS:
EVANGELIA MITSA,
ASHIS LIMBU & VERONIKA US
DISCOVER AN INSIDE VIEW ON START-UP
INVESTMENT
Start-up investment or raising finance is often an opaque hidden mystery to most
seeking it. Our elite panels of investment industry insiders will shine a spotlight
on this process. This rare inside view will educate, entertain and give you solid
advice from those who know.
GET FUNDED
May 24th, 2021
5:45pm - 9:00pm Eastern Summer Time
(10:45pm BST, 14:45pm PT)

5:45pm-6pm
Doors Open: Welcome by Andrew Bott

6pm-6:45pm
“How VCs Evaluate PreSeed and Seed Startups”
This panel will focus on the valuation and metrics VCs follow when it comes to a PreSeed or Seed Startup. Where do they focus before
investing, what’s the most important aspect for them and what can make them turn away? Join this panel to listen to evaluation
insights!
“Choosing the Right Investor”
How many times startups come to the dilemma of choosing the right investor? This panel will emphasize on where you should focus
and what to look for from an investor. Choosing the right investor can vary according to your stage, industry and many more, who will
be discussed during this pane;

6:45pm-7:30pm
“NYC VC Ecosystem Chat”
A special NYC VC ecosystem chat hosting leading experts within the New York City area. Join this panel to listen more on how NYC
VCs invest, how do they evaluate startups and what excites them the most in the market.

“How Investors Choose Startups”

A unique panel focusing on investors and their investment decision making. This panel will emphasize on the elements VCs focus
more and how they choose and eventually invest on startups.

7:30pm-8:15pm
“VC Advice – Spending Your First Capital”
Join this panel if just receive your first capital and looking on how to efficiently allocate it. Is there the perfect allocation, which are the
most important parts that you should spend to and how to avoid bad spending. Join this panel to learn more on your capital’s better
allocation.

8:00pm-9pm
Video Networking
Our software allows attendees to be matched automatically every 5 minutes in 1:1 video chats! Network,
make connections, and find opportunities through some great conversations

PITCH NIGHT
May 25th, 2021
5:45pm - 9:00pm Eastern Summer Time
(10:45pm BST, 14:45pm PT)

6:00pm-7:30pm
Start-up Pitches & Feedback from the Judges
Start-ups pitch to judges for Investment and are given feedback from our judges who are all currently investors. Investors from around
the world attend and watch the pitches, and start-ups/investors have the chance to
 7:30pm-9pm
Video Networking
Our software allows attendees to be matched automatically every 5 minutes in 1:1 video chats! Network, make connections, and find
opportunities through some great conversations
 Pitch Night Start-ups
MAY 25TH| 6 PM - 7:30 PM EST

OFFschool Ezpizee Co Pronto

Industry: EdTech Industry: E-commerce Industry: Consumer Goods /
Country: EU Country: Canada and Cambodia Electronics / MedTech /
Company LinkedIn: link Company LinkedIn: link Sustainability
Amount raising: £250K-500K Amount raising: $5M - $10M Country: Australia
Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: $516,000
USD ($675k AUD)

Payzel Open Art Source XCINEX

Industry: Innovative industry Industry: Blockchain, Artificial Industry: Tech, Media,
finance Intelligence, Art Entertainment, Streaming
Country: US Country: US Country: US
Amount raising: $1.75M Company LinkedIn: link Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: $2MM Amount raising: £1M

Torque NeverEnding Bourgeois Boheme

Industry: Software Industry: Media/Entertainment Industry: Sustainable Fashion
Country: US and Gaming Country: UK
Company LinkedIn: link Country: US Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: $1.1M Company LinkedIn: link Amount raising: £500,000
Amount raising: $1,000,000

SportsTrace Unleashed (Facilitate) Plumbr

Industry: Sports Technology Industry: VR, edtech, training Industry: B2B Enterprise
Country: US technology, SaaS Software
Company LinkedIn: link Country: Australia Country: US
Amount raising: $750K Company LinkedIn: link Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: $550K Amount raising: $1M
Proof in Recovery JoopiterX Limited URIJI JAMI LTD
Industry: Healthcare Tech Industry: Online travel Industry: Social Wallet
Country: US marketplace Platform/Social network
Company LinkedIn: link Country: UK incorporated & Country: UK/Spain/Latam
Amount raising: $2.5M pending US Delaware inc. Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: $1M (25% Amount raising: $1M
commitment from existing
angels)

GenesisAI The Vlage World Ltd Deploy Tech Ltd

Industry: Technology Industry: PropTech Industry: Construction
Country: US Country: Kenya Country: UK
Company LinkedIn: link Company LinkedIn: link Company LinkedIn: link
Amount raising: Series A Amount raising: $100,000 Amount raising: £500K

Everykey Mesur.io
Industry: Cybersecurity Industry: autoML AI/Food
Country: US Security & Food Supply Chain
Company LinkedIn: link Country: US
Amount raising: $4M USD total, Company LinkedIn: link
$1.5M USD remaining Amount raising: $1.5M
 “How VCs Evaluate PreSeed and Seed
Startups”
MAY 24TH | 6 PM – 6:45 PM EST
Sindhya Valloppillil
VENTURE PARTNER, BROWN ADVISORY & NEXTGEN VENTURE PARTNERS
Book Recommendation: Brotopia by Emily Chang

I assist with deal flow and diligence for NextGen Venture Partners.

Amit Sridharan
FOUNDING GENERAL PARTNER, FIRST RAYS VENTURE PARTNERS
Book Recommendation: Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable
Companies by Chris Yeh and Reid Hoffman

Amit specializes in seed stage investments in Enterprise Infrastructure Stack. He focuses on

meeting specific needs of Founders in the scale up to Series A. He has over 18 years of operating
and investing experience around the way software is being delivered and consumed in the
Enterprise landscape. The active First Rays portfolio is a reflection of his thesis.

Dylan Itzikowitz
ASSOCIATE, EXPA
Book Recommendation: Ready Player One & The Signal and the Noise by Ernest Cline

Dylan Itzikowitz is an Associate at Expa, where he works to identify and support talented
founders for Expa's pre-seed investments. Previously, Dylan led media and travel investments
at Founders Factory in London.

Reza Jafer
VENTURE PARTNER, GOOD NEWS VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson & Zero to One
by Peter Thiel

Our fund met 1,400 companies in 2020 and is on track to meet 3,000+ in 2021. We've already
done more investments in Q1 2021 than all year 2020.
 “Choosing The Right Investor”
MAY 24TH | 6 PM – 6:45 PM EST
Tori Hanson
FOUNDER, THE KNOWLEDGE SHOP
Book Recommendation: Brave not Perfect by Reshma Saujani

A media industry veteran, with 15+ yrs experience launching, growing and licensing brands for
both startup and legacy businesses - most recently at The New York Times. In October, I
joined the world of entrepreneurship, where I am using my business development / growth
skills to reduce the growing levels of social isolation, accelerated by the Coronavirus
pandemic.

Shila Nieves Burney

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER, ZANE VENTURE FUND
Book Recommendation: Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson

Shila Nieves Burney, an award-winning project manager, is the Founding and Managing
Partner of Zane Venture Fund. Shila spent her 20+ year career advocating for marginalized
groups. She has worked closely with leading organizations and exceptional talent to cre ate
solutions that address disparities through investment in human capital. As 3x founder,
Shila founded ZANE Venture Fund, a seed fund that would invest in underrepresented
founders with the goal of closing the funding gap while generating high returns for
investors.

Mars Shah
CEO & FOUNDER, RED ROCK CAPITAL, LLC
Book Recommendation: Give and Take by Adam Grant and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

I have invested in both enterprise and consumer businesses across saas, CPG, edtech and
FinTech. I invest seed all the way up to intuitional rounds (Series A-B)

Danielle D’Agostaro
PRINCIPAL PARTNER, WV VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Hard Things about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Danielle D'Agostaro is the Principal Partner at WV Ventures, a $100M VC joint venture

between Advocate Aurora Health, Foxconn, Johnson Controls, and Northwestern Mutual.
Danielle is an experienced operator with a demonstrated history in early stage startup
investments. Prior to WVV, Danielle spent the last 7 years building the Alchemist Accelerator
into the leading
 “NYC VC Ecosystem Chat”
MAY 24TH | 6:45 PM - 7:30 PM EST
Tori Hanson
FOUNDER, THE KNOWLEDGE SHOP
Book Recommendation: Brave not Perfect by Reshma Saujani

A media industry veteran, with 15+ yrs experience launching, growing and licensing brands for
both startup and legacy businesses - most recently at The New York Times. In October, I
joined the world of entrepreneurship, where I am using my business development / growth
skills to reduce the growing levels of social isolation, accelerated by the Coronavirus
pandemic.

Sim Blaunstein
PARTNER, BDMI
Sim joined BDMI in 2012 from High Line Venture Partners, where he co-founded the seed
fund, and has been in venture capital since 2002 including 3 years at Gabriel Ventures. In
addition to spearheading BDMI's seed fund, he led or co-led BDMI’s investments in StyleHaul
(acquired by RTL), Dramafever (acquired by Softbank), HelloGiggles (acquired by Time),
Food52 (acquired by TCG), Omaze, Suzy, Pathmatics, Jukin Media and Nativo. He is actively
focused on new investments in online video and next-generation content-driven companies.

Mitchell Kleinhandler
MANAGING PARTNER, DIFFERENTIAL VENTURES

Mitchell Kleinhandler is a Managing Partner at Differential Ventures and a Board Partner and
former Venture Partner at Scout Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm. He is an
investor, adviser, and consultant to startups and has extensive expertise in the financing,
development, and management of early stage and growth companies across diverse industry
verticals.

Jason Shuman
PARTNER, PRIMARY VENTURE PARTNERS
Book Recommendation: High Growth Handbookj by Elad Gil

Jason is a Partner at Primary Venture Partners, the largest seed fund exclusively focused on
New York City. Jason leads all new consumer and marketplace investments there including
FinTech, healthcare and real estate tech. Previously Jason was named to the Forbes 30
Under 30 for Venture Capital and is one of the Venture Capital Journal's 40 rising stars.
 “How Investors Choose Startups”
MAY 24TH | 6:45 PM – 7:30 PM EST
Rebecca L. Batterman
INNOVATION AND VENTURE CONSULTANT & EIR, HARVARD VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Impact by Sir Ronald Cohen

My investment experience has been as a consultant working directly with and advising VCs, as
an angel investor, as a crowdequity investor, and as a sweat equity investor. Cross industry
and cross sector.

Jeff Becker
MANAGING DIRECTOR & GENERAL PARTNER, ACCELEPRISE
Book Recommendation: Turning the Flywheel, Jim Collins

Managing Director and GP at Acceleprise. Jeff is a sales leader with 10 years in B2B SaaS. In
that same time, he also scaled his start-up to more than 500k units in over 100 countries while
angel investing in a series of successful businesses.

Alex Ferber
PARTNER, GREEN EGG VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki &Sharon Lechter

Alex is Co-Founder and Partner at Green Egg Ventures, an early stage venture fund investing
in software startups that are solving problems for businesses. Prior to co-founding Green Egg
Ventures, Alex worked at Metamorphic Ventures where he led deal sourcing efforts, streamlined
due diligence processes, and provided assistance to LPs and portfolio companies.

Stephen Reisert
INVESTOR, RSE VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

Stephen is an Investor and Vice President at RSE Ventures. He is responsible for supporting
RSE’s existing portfolio and for evaluating and sourcing new investment opportunities –
particularly in technology, direct to consumer, CPG and restaurants. He works closely with
Momofuku, Fuku, Milk Bar, The Drone Racing League, SkOUT Cyber Security, Banza,
Bellwether Coffee, Magic Spoon, Immi and Levels Health – the last three of which he sourced.
 “VC Advice – Spending Your First Capital”
MAY 24TH | 7:30 PM – 8:15 PM EST
Tori Hanson
FOUNDER, THE KNOWLEDGE SHOP
Book Recommendation: Brave not Perfect by Reshma Saujani

A media industry veteran, with 15+ yrs experience launching, growing and licensing brands for
both startup and legacy businesses - most recently at The New York Times. In October, I
joined the world of entrepreneurship, where I am using my business development / growth
skills to reduce the growing levels of social isolation, accelerated by the Coronavirus
pandemic.

Ashley Aydin
PRINCIPAL, VAMOSVENTURES
Book Recommendation: Zero To One by Peter Thiel

Ashley started her career at Morgan Stanley and moved into strategic roles at
Shoptiques.com, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Estee Lauder. She’s been an investor at Brand
Foundry Ventures, Founders Factory, and Dorm Room Fund,. She's currently a Principal at
VamosVentures where she covers all consumer verticals. Ashley received her MBA from MIT
Sloan and holds a BA from Brown University.

Blake Pennington
SENIOR ASSOCIATE, FUSION FUND
Book Recommendation: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

Blake has led two investments at Fusion Fund in the cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure
space. He predominantly focuses on enterprise, cybersecurity, privacy and cloud
infrastructure, as well as looks at logistics and healthcare companies. Prior to Fusion Fund, he
was an MBA Venture Fellow and Associate at In-Q-Tel.

Charles Solomon
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER,CENTRIPETAL ADVISORS & VENTURE PARTNER, BENI
VENTURE CAPITAL

Charles has worked independently with companies since 2015 and formally launched
Centripetal Advisors in 2018. Since then, he has advised on $65M+ of transactions. He has also
sourced ten buy side transactions. He’s currently a Venture Partner at BeniVC, sits on the
Columbia Business School NYC Alum Club Board and Chairs the club’s Private Equity
Committee. He is also a mentor at the Hudson Community Incubator. He’s a Columbia Business
School MBA and graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a BA in economics.
 “Judges for Live Pitch”
MAY 25TH | 6 PM – 7:30 PM EST

Moderator: Andrew Bott

FOUNDER, MEETFOUNDERS
Book Recommendation: Venture Deals BY Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson

Andrew Bott is the founder of MeetFounders.co. His core mission is building

relationships with investors like you, helping industry experts to share their
knowledge, and pursing great start-ups seeking investment.

Moderator: Ashis Limbu

SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD, MEETFOUNDERS

Ashis is currently a Social Media Lead at MeetFounders. His educational background includes
Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing from the University of Surrey in
the UK.

Ryan Chou
INVESTOR, JETBLUE TECHNOLOGY VENTURES
Book Recommendation: High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil

Ryan Chou is an investor with JetBlue Technology Ventures, focused on sourcing a range of
technologies from enterprise software platforms to mobility innovations.

Pavan Kumar
FOUNDER, 3PMVENTURES
Book Recommendation: Zero to One by Peter Thiel

Ex-founder investing in early stage startups in USA, India & UK. Backing passionate founders
in deeptech, platforms and market places. Also part of a venture studio helping founders to fill
the competency gaps to reach next level.
 Wendy Diamond
FOUNDER & CEO, LDP VENTURES & WOMEN’S
ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY ORGANISATION

Wendy Diamond is the CEO / Founder of Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization

(WEDO) / #ChooseWOMEN, a non-governmental volunteer organization and global
initiative celebrated in 144 countries, and universities/ colleges worldwide with the mission
to empower WOMEN in business and alleviate poverty.

Alex Ferber
PARTNER, GREEN EGG VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki &Sharon Lechter

Alex is Co-Founder and Partner at Green Egg Ventures, an early stage venture fund investing
in software startups that are solving problems for businesses. Prior to co-founding Green Egg
Ventures, Alex worked at Metamorphic Ventures where he led deal sourcing efforts,
streamlined due diligence processes, and provided assistance to LPs and portfolio companies.

Ryan Sommerville
SENIOR DIRECTOR, ANTLER
Book Recommendation: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Investing in pre-seed/seed for 2+ years. Prior to that, built and scaled ventures in the
financial services, e-commerce, technology spaces. Early employee at a FinTech start-up
and a nonprofit organization that provides pro-bono services to empower lower-income
entrepreneurs.

Odile Roujol
MANAGING PARTNER, FAB VENTURES
Book Recommendation: Platform Revolution by Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van
Alstyne, Sangeet Paul Choudary

Founder of Fab Ventures (seed stage, consumer brands, focusing on conscious Fashion and
Beauty), based in California, investing in the US. Fab Fashion and BeautyTech community,
now 7000 founders worldwide.
 Jason Best
MANAGING PARTNER & CO-FOUNDER, VECTR FINTECH PARTNERS
Jason Best is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Vectr Fintech Partners and has served
as a Venture Partner for Vectr Ventures since 2014. He is a San Francisco-based technology
entrepreneur who co-authored the crowdfund-investing framework used in the JOBS Act to
legalize securities-based crowdfunding in the US.