Rockies Venture Club (RVC) is excited to host this event as a part of Denver Startup Week. RVC investors pride themselves on being “anti-sharks” and negotiating fair deals for all parties, unlike ABC’s Shark Tank investors who often take 50% or more for their investment. Anti-sharks do well by aligning investments with founders and focusing on the exit strategy. We hope that after this event you will start thinking more like an anti-shark and help turn red oceans blue.
The event will consist of two rounds. In the first round each company will give their 5 minute pitch with 5 minutes for feedback and Q&A from the judges. After each pitch the audience will have the chance to rate the presenter on the quality of the pitch and the quality of the investment opportunity. After every company has pitched the votes will be paired with the judge’s votes and the top two companies will move onto the second round. In this second round the companies will pitch their exit strategy to the judges. Again the audience will have the chance to vote and from there the top company will be announced.
Meet our Judges
David Gold is a Managing Director at Access Venture Partners. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with Special Honors from the University of Colorado and was a National Science Foundation Fellow while earning Masters Degrees in both Aerospace Engineering and Technology Policy from M.I.T.
After working as an engineer with NASA, David spent a short time working on Capitol Hill and served in the Executive Office of the President of the United States where he was responsible for budget and policy oversight of the U.S. Land Remote Sensing and Weather Satellite programs as well as the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Subsequently he worked for several years as a manager growing a network of manufacturing consulting centers that assisted smaller manufacturers implement improved quality and efficiency. As part of his role, David launched an initiative focused on green manufacturing through waste reduction.
Prior to joining Access Venture Partners, David was founder and CEO of ProSavvy, an eProcurement and online marketplace company which grew to profitability and a merger. After ProSavvy, David spent a number of years working with early stage companies as an advisor, board member and part time executive before joining the Access team.
Krista Morgan is co-founder and CEO of P2Binvestor, a rapidly growing, Denver-based crowdlending platform for working capital financing founded in 2012. Since P2Binvestor officially went to market in January 2014, Krista led operations and strategic direction for the company and grew client contracts to more than $14 million and receivables purchased to more than $50 million. Before starting a financial technology company, she worked in digital marketing and managed accounts for major brands such as Coca-Cola and Barclays at some of London’s top digital agencies, and earlier in her career she managed operations for a custom motorcycle frame manufacturer. Morgan hails from Montreal and earned a degree in economics from McGill University.
Peter Adams serves as the Managing Director of the Rockies Venture Fund, an early stage venture capital co-investment fund, and as Executive Director of the Rockies Venture Club, the longest running angel investing group in the United States. RVC is a non-profit organization furthering economic development in Colorado by connecting investors and entrepreneurs through conferences (Angel Capital Summit and Colorado Capital Conference), networking events, angel investing educational offerings and facilitation of Colorado’s largest angel investor groups.
Peter is co-author of Venture Capital for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons. 2013) presenting entrepreneurs with an inside view of what is needed to raise angel and venture financing in a competitive and fast moving market. Peter is also an Adjunct Professor at Colorado State University where he teaches the Capstone course for the Executive MBA program in Denver.
Jacob Cordova is Managing Director for PWJ Strategies, a firm providing product development, systems engineering, and business strategy consultation and support. He is also involved in the Colorado entrepreneurship ecosystem, and as Director of Venture Capital Analytics for a Colorado investment syndicate he established a Kauffman Foundation Research based due diligence program where he leads a team with banking, law, business, and engineering backgrounds.
Prior to PWJ Strategies, Jacob held integrated roles in the aerospace industry. While at the Johnson Space Center Jacob led the facility infrastructure design and development as Chief Architect of the JSC Innovation Design Center, an initiative to accelerate the creation, transfer, and commercialization of technologies developed by the American space program. As Regional Program Manager for Lockheed Martin Relations he connected entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors to corporate engineers where they received state funded engineering support through the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program. Jacob also supported the NASA Orion program where he performed product management, design, and manufacturing engineering roles and was President of the Johnson Space Center Engineers Without Borders program.
Meet the Companies:
Play-It Health designs versatile, comprehensive adherence solutions that respond directly to the needs of patients, family members, and health care providers. Play-It Health recognizes that the medical sector not only needs solutions that are effective in engaging patients, but solutions that provide clinicians with the assimilated adherence data they need to effectively treat patients.
Learn more at www.playithealth.com
Lakeshore combines technology (think MLS, UBER), culture, brand and a Re/Max style Agent model to allow successful recruiting professionals the opportunity to have maximum compensation and world class support. Our mission is to build the world’s largest, most trusted recruiting network where Employers & Candidates have a sustainable alternative to existing industry offerings.
Learn more at: www.livinglakeshore.com
MoneyCarta will emulate the experience of working with a personal advisor on your comprehensive financial plan. By telling users where they stand and how they can improve, the free app will provide specific product recommendations from our partners to put them on the path towards financial success.The app can also be build as a private label product for financial institutions looking for a forward thinking way to cross-sell their products.
Learn more at: www.moneycarta.com