Pitch Pit and Showcase Presentation

Showcase Presentation

This even will feature a 10-minute investor-focused pitch, developed by a local entrepreneur with the help of NEF’s coaching program. The goal of the Showcase Presentation is to allow entrepreneurs to present their business plan and connect with potential investors.

This month’s Showcase Presenter will be William Crane with OrbAid.

OrbAid is an AI-assisted sustainability project management workflow software helping Fortune 500 companies accelerate greener, more profitable operations. With early adopters like Berkshire Hathaway, ZF and AGCO, OrbAid is already making waves. William holds a degree in Supply Chain Management from Western Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Pitch Pit Competition

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After all of the pitches are completed, the judges will give detailed feedback. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive the opportunity to receive a Business Readiness Assessment coaching session with New Enterprise Forum coaches. Interested in pitching your own idea? Apply here!

Participants

Josh Smith with Bench in a Box Technologies

Pradnya Ghorpade with Eatro

Justin Scott with Sit Sense

Terranie Sims Clarke with The Heart Next Door

Judges

David C. Bloom, Executive Director of Pointe Angels. David Bloom is a veteran of thirteen startups, an advisor or director with four emerging companies, and a mentor for scores of innovative technology ventures in Life Science/Medical Devices, Advanced Materials/Cleantech, and Cloud/Mobile Applications. David is the Executive Director of the Pointe Angels investment club, where he is responsible for scouting, screening, due diligence, and coordinating deal flow with Angel investors across the state. David organizes monthly investor meetings to showcase qualified startups, preview rising stars, and update investors on portfolio companies.  David holds a BSE in Electrical Engineering, and an MSE in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan.

John Stinson, Investment Committee at Cantilever Investors. In 2004 Mr. Stinson founded Clear Image Devices, LLC, a highly successful medical device manufacturing company. Building and selling several lines of patient positioning devices for medical imaging, Mr. Stinson built a worldwide distribution network of more than 80 dealers and distributors. Mr. Stinson sold the business in 2017 and now works part time as a business consultant. Prior to this, Mr. Stinson was Senior Vice President & Chief Technical Officer of Media Station; held a similar role at Compuware, where he managed the design of more than 20 software products; Manager of Product Development for KnowledgeWare, the nation’s leading CASE tools company; and Vice President of Product Development at Holland Systems. Mr. Stinson holds both a Masters and Bachelors degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.

Networking

Come join us in person to enjoy food and drink and conversation with members of the local startup community.