seth | The Startup Forum

About seth

Co-Founder of The Startup Forum Curator of The Startup Digest Miami 15 years as a Senior Executive of (and Adviser to) growth enterprises. History of successful leadership, strategic analysis and tactical implementation on behalf of emerging growth companies.

Archive by Author

Great Turnout for April 25th Pitch Perfect – Now Help Us Move Forward

by seth on April 27, 2011

Our April 25th event was tremendous. Alex and I would like to thank everyone that participated:

Capacity, standing room-only crowd for Pitch Perfect

The Judges – Victoria Song of Flybridge Capital (who flew down from Boston), Scott Kosch of Kosch Capital, Benoit Wirz of the Knight Foundation and Jack Karabees of CP Capital (who stepped in as a judge at the last minute to replace a no-show). Also to Willlie Morris, who was gracious enough to do our objective tally scoring.

The Sponsors – Christopher & Weisberg (who have supported us from the beginning), MiamiShared (looking for space to work? check them out) and VoxMed (in of itself a startup!). Also thanks to Scotty’s Landing for some great food pre-event and a wonderful post-event venue (a special thanks to Gil Rodriguez for successfully working to find a food sponsor for Pitch Perfect).

The Presenters – MiVesta, CupidRatings, The DailyCramp, Zoink and 71 lbs – well done! It’s not easy to pitch in 5 minutes – and it’s even more difficult to humbly accept commentary and critique without an opportunity to respond. We are privileged to have had you as presenters and delighted that you chose to participate.

Commissioner Sarnoff and the City of Miami – We were quite honored to hold our event in historic Miami City Hall and continue to receive the support of Commissioner Sarnoff and the City. We were particularly pleased to have Commissioner Sarnoff and Vice Chair Carollo briefly address the Startups and attendees (a very special thanks to Will Plasencia for arranging the use of Miami City Hall and quarterbacking the entire logistics process).

The Audience – If you attended, you know that we had a capacity crowd that was literally standing room only. Thanks to all of you that came out to hear and support the participating startups.

As I noted at Pitch Perfect, a core reason that we hold these events is to change the perspective (both locally and nationally) of the startup and technology environment in South Florida. Although Miami is the 4th largest metro area, we receive less than 2% of the nation’s venture capital investment. Continue Reading →

The Startup Forum partners with the Hatchery to create the Hatchery Miami.

by seth on January 8, 2011

MIAMI, FL – January 6, 2011 – The Startup Forum and The Hatchery, a New York City based organization, have today announced the formation of the Hatchery Miami.

The Hatchery fosters Venture Collaboration between the investor and entrepreneur communities — hosting and producing events, seminars and showcases throughout the year. These activities expand and strengthen the ecosystem of entrepreneurs, start-ups, and venture investors. These events include:

Are You Serious: Held regularly, this is a start-up pitch event centered upon educating both participating startups and audience members. The event is designed to teach by example – offering direct feedback designed to improve companies and pitches. Several startups offer 5 minute presentations based on The Hatchery’s 11-point presentation checklist. A panel of expert judges publicly reviews presenters, offering constructive (yet entertaining) criticism.

The Gauntlet: Scheduled quarterly, these events showcase 3 promising companies – assisting in moving to the “next level.” These are invitation only events – both for the presenting companies and the audience members. Attendees usually include angel investors, venture capitalists and related corporate professionals. This event is intended for later stage companies, who are looking for institutional investment upwards of $5M.

Hatch Match: Each year, New York’s investor and entrepreneurial communities come together in for a series of intensive meetings. Essentially, Hatch Match is speed dating for startups and investors. In the space of one evening approximately 1000 speed dates takes place with 500 entrepreneurs.

Hatchery Miami plans to hold similar events, serving as a conduit between South Florida’s promising start-ups and angel investors, venture capitalists, fellow entrepreneurs and strategic investors and partners in New York and beyond.

“There is an inherent synergy between South Florida and New York City,” remarked Seth Elliott, co-Founder of The Startup Forum and Hatchery Miami. “The opportunity exists to ‘food chain’ South Florida companies into the New York venture investing ecosystem, allowing entrepreneurs and investors to mutually benefit.”

Yao Huang, co-Founder of the Hatchery noted “As a result of our New York activities, The Hatchery is becoming a marquis global brand in the entrepreneurial finance space. South Florida represents a natural extension, and we are confident that New York investors will get to see a significant number of promising companies not currently on the radar screen.”

The Hatchery Miami will hold its first Are You Serious event on February 10, 2011 hosted by Miami Dade College. Further details on the event will be released shortly.

About The Startup Forum. The Startup Forum seeks to foster the development of vibrant regional startup communities. TSF encourages entrepreneurial formation and growth and promotes early stage regional investments. TSF serves three primary constituencies: entrepreneurs, investors (both institutional and angel) and government (and related not-for-profit) organizations. Further information can be found at http://www.startupforum.net.

About The Hatchery; The Hatchery is a venture collaboration and advisory firm serving as a venture catalyst for emerging and established companies in the Technology, Energy, Healthcare, and Social Impact sectors – domestic and international. It provides Business, Strategic and Corporate Development services to its clients and along with its affiliated Investment Bank directly participates in transactions: Private Placements, Mergers & Acquisitions. http://www.hatchery.vc.