Northeastern PA -
Ben Franklin Venture Idol is a cross between Shark Tank® and American Idol® that illustrates a significant way in which entrepreneurs obtain seed capital for their early-stage firms. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania will host its annual Ben Franklin Venture Idol on Thursday evening, November 8, 2018.
After earning their way through a round of judging in the afternoon prior to the evening event, three start-up technology entrepreneurs seeking funding will be selected to present at Venture Idol. Following short critiques from a panel of investors, the audience members will “fund” the companies. With $100 of “Ben Bucks,” each guest will distribute his or her “investment dollars” in whole or part among the three finalists. Ben Franklin will award $15,000 in real dollars to the companies based on the audience vote.
At this year's Venture Idol, the keynote presentation will be a negotiation simulation. A common impression among viewers of Shark Tank is that if an agreement is reached during the program's negotiations, it will be executed on those terms. Actually, only 27% of the “deals” on-air happen at the agreed-upon terms. Investment banker and Lehigh University professor, Dale Falcinelli, will facilitate a “deal negotiation” between investor, Doug Petillo, General Partner, Leading Edge Ventures, and founder, Michael Stocker, CEO, Only Sky Inc.
Ben Franklin Venture Idol
November 8, 2018
Networking - 5:30 pm
Program - 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Ben Franklin TechVentures
116 Research Drive
Bethlehem, PA
Directions: http://nep.benfranklin.org/about/contact/directions-ben-franklin-techventures-and-headquarters/
Investor Panelists:
Dr. Clark DeHaven, SoundBoard Angel Fund
Mark Kramer, Private Investors Forum
Liz Sigety, Delaware Crossing Investor Group
Brett Topche, Red and Blue Ventures
The 2018 Ben Franklin Venture Idol competitors are:
ConnexiCore, www.connexicore.com, Milford, PA
Frank Segarra, President
ConnexiCore is becoming the premier global solution for improving aerial data collection, analytics, and decision support for industry. With increasing monthly revenue, ConnexiCore has successfully implemented a cloud-based software platform that is being used by a nationwide fleet of highly qualified pilots across the country.
Game Face Products, http://www.gamefacegrooming.com, ESU Innovation Center, East Stroudsburg, PA
Philip Williams, President
Game Face Products launched its first proprietary product line under the brand name, Game Face Grooming. The line is comprised of large, “man-sized” wipes that are 100% biodegradable, have 98.5% natural ingredients, and are made in the U.S. There are currently four SKUs, and the brand is now in 13 store chains (more than 11,000 store doors) throughout the U.S.
Grovara, LLC, http://www.grovara.com, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, PA
Peter Groverman, Founder and CEO
Grovara is creating a B2B marketplace and platform that enables vetted American manufacturers of wellness brands, specifically natural foods and beverages, to responsibly go global in 120 days.
HootBoard, https://www.hootboard.com, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, PA
Satyajeet Shahade, Co-Founder and CEO
HootBoard is a digital concierge platform; the company is building the next-generation digital equivalent of human concierges. The company's software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based kiosk operating system and applications platform dramatically simplifies the current approach to the deployment and ongoing management of digital concierge assets. HootBoard-based kiosks can be deployed in minutes, without custom development, and at a fraction of the cost compared with traditional kiosk solutions.
Rocket Cloud, Inc., http://www.rocketcl.com, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, PA
Sean Caverly, President and CEO
Industrial suppliers have been crippled by legacy technology, limiting their ability to migrate to the web. Their legacy inventory software cannot provide the basic shopping cart experience for their everyday contractors. Rocket Cloud's platform combines sales trends data with clients' inventory and purchasing experiences to drive top-line growth and bottom-line margins.
Signallamp Health, http://www.signallamphealth.com, Scranton, PA
Drew Kearney, Co-Founder & CEO
Signallamp Health (SLH) is an IT-enabled care management provider that works as an extension of the physician practice, targets new and untapped sources of Medicare revenue, and helps practices prepare for the certain changes in reimbursement that will reward value over volume. SLH has more than 1,000 doctors under contract, representing 78,000 eligible patients.
Universal Cross-Connection Control, http://www.universalccc.com, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, PA
Kevin Turcotte, Founder
Universal Cross Connection Control (UCCC) provides a software-supported service to water companies, helping them to implement backflow prevention equipment testing and certification programs.
Ben Franklin Venture Idol registration is available to the public!
GET TICKETS HERE: http://sites.ennect.com/e5895
$40 in advance and $50 on the day of the event.
About the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) creates and retains highly paid, sustainable jobs by investing in and linking companies with experts, universities, follow-on funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. It is part of a four-center economic development initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and is funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
Please contact Laura Eppler at 610.758.5237 or leppler@nep.benfranklin.org, for more information!
Laura S. Eppler
Chief Marketing Officer
610-758-5237
leppler@nep.benfranklin.org
