SYRACUSE — Aspiring entrepreneurs will attempt to impress a room of angel investors and venture capitalists with their business plans for developing and commercializing the latest Internet and mobile technologies at the StartFast Venture Accelerator’s Demo Day 2014 on Aug. 14. The Demo Day kicks off at 3 p.m. with registration and a chance to […]
SYRACUSE — Aspiring entrepreneurs will attempt to impress a room of angel investors and venture capitalists with their business plans for developing and commercializing the latest Internet and mobile technologies at the StartFast Venture Accelerator’s Demo Day 2014 on Aug. 14.
The Demo Day kicks off at 3 p.m. with registration and a chance to meet the entrepreneurial teams at the WCNY Connection Center at 415 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse. The keynote speech and team presentations start at 4 p.m.
This year’s guest speaker is Patrick Ambron, co-founder & CEO of BrandYourSelf.com. He was named one of Inc. magazine’s “35 under 35 coolest entrepreneurs.” While at Syracuse University, Ambron and his co-founders launched Brand Yourself in the Syracuse Student Sandbox.
Launched in 2012, StartFast Venture Accelerator is a mentorship-based program for seed-stage software, mobile, and Internet companies. Backed by angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporations, StartFast takes an equity interest in each participating company. Each year, the accelerator chooses 5-10 software, mobile, and Internet companies for an intense three-month program in Syracuse.
The 2014 teams participating in the StartFast program and its Demo Day are the following (descriptions provided by StartFast Venture Accelerator):
Instamour (Philadelphia, Pa.): Instamour (www.instamour.com) allows you to create real relationships via video profiles, live video chat, virtual phone calls, and instant messaging without giving away your personal information.
PlatypusTV (Syracuse): Platypus TV (www.platypustv.com) is a social platform that time-stamps conversations to television episodes, allowing for a shared experience, no matter the time.
Wyzerr (Berkeley, Calif.): Wyzerr (www.wyzerr.com) is a communication platform that helps businesses target, engage, and better understand their customers. It says it helps customers communicate feedback directly to the business at the point-of-sale.
Zursh (San Diego, Calif. and Chile) Zursh (www.zursh.com) is a research engine connecting enterprise requests with researchers. For professionals, Zursh says it minimizes the time, cost, and complexity of getting quality, hard-to-find data.
Mass Mosaic (Kingston, N.Y.) Mass Mosaic (www.massmosaic.com) is a website of wants and haves. You can exchange anything with anyone.
Interface Foundry (New York City) Interface Foundry (www.interfacefoundry.com) lets you browse and build personalized data bubbles.
“DemoDay showcases the reality for top talent around the world to come to this area, be nurtured by world-class mentors, and evolve into high-growth business models,” Jonathan Grutka, director of growth initiatives at Upstate Venture Connect, which helps operate StartFast, says in an email. “StartFast has generated a tremendous opportunity to re-engage [area] expats, alumni, and top entrepreneurs from around the country to come back to and/or visit the area for the first time and experience all that CNY has to offer.”
For more information on the StartFast Demo Day, including requesting an invitation to attend, visit http://startfast.net/demoday/.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com