Five-Minute Pitch Contest
from WPI Venture Forum
This event has passed.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 5:30pm - 9:00pm
Come hear six entrepreneurs present their case for funding their business, listen to the judges' responses and vote for your favorite. The competition will be fierce and the feedback constructive.
An integral part of the WPI Venture Forum's commitment to foster entrepreneurship and the growth of technology-based businesses, the Five-Minute Pitch Contest is designed to generate investment interest for participating entrepreneurs. Finalists are contemplating, starting or operating early-stage technology ventures and are seeking funding.
Contestants will be given five minutes to pitch their business plan to the WPI Venture Forum audience and a select panel of business leaders and investors. After each case is presented, the judges will offer brief comments on the case. They will evaluate the cases on innovation, market opportunity, value proposition, investability, and presentation quality. The audience will vote through handheld electronic voting devices. Both judge and audience votes will determine the winner, who will receive a cash prize. June's event and the contest's cash prize are sponsored by Wolf Greenfield and Sacks.
The WPI Venture Forum has assembled an experienced panel of judges for this contest, with a mix of attorneys, investors and advisors. William R. Cowen, managing partner at Long River Ventures since 2002, has more than 20 years of early-stage company building experience as a CEO of several start ups, and as an early stage venture investor. Cowen founded his most recent company, NaviMedix, in 1998, now a leading healthcare IT firm that streamlines transactions between healthcare payers and providers. On the investing side, Cowen was a managing partner of Interface Technologies and Firepond Partners, two early-stage healthcare funds.
Chris Golden, president, Mission Critical Advisors and vice chairman, Boynton Angels, is a seasoned executive having held "C" level positions in industrial and technology companies in both domestic and international markets. An active investor and serial entrepreneur, he is a founding member of the Boynton Angels, Worcester's only Angel investing organization.
Steven J. Henry, shareholder at Wolf Greenfield, is a member of the firm's Electrical & Computing Technology Group and co-chairs the IP Transactions Group. He has broad experience in all aspects of intellectual property with special expertise in the protection of computer-related inventions (hardware and software) and electronic technology. He is particularly interested in fostering the growth of technology-based companies, large and small, by developing effective IP strategies. He served as president and managing partner from 1995 to 2000.
Janice L. Shields is managing partner and executive vice president at Shields & Company, Inc., a private Boston-based investment banking firm specializing in corporate finance activities for a wide variety of purposes for middle-market companies. She is also president of Shields Securities, Inc., a broker dealer firm.
Rounding out the panel is Mark Solomon, principal, Hamilton Brook Smith & Reynolds. An IP attorney, he has drafted and prosecuted patent applications in diverse engineering technologies, including telecommunications, optics, fuel cell, digital signal processing, optical and electrical networking, control systems, business methods, analog and digital electronics, software, GPS systems, antennas, medical devices, and mechanical devices. Prior to joining the firm, Mark worked for ten years as an engineer in the areas of R&D, design, development, testing, and field integration.
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