Similar format: 3 Investor pitches. A panel of successful entrepreneurs and investors providing constructive criticism. Audience participates in the Q&A. BullPen Winner (Panel choice) receives $15,000 of in-kind services and pitching slots at Jumpstart NJ Angels and Tech Council Ventures. All 3 presenting ventures have participated in TechLaunch's Business Accelerator program, with mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs and/or investors.
Lorine Pendleton : NY Chair at TIGER 21. Advisor and investor with business development, marketing, strategy and sales experience in legal, entertainment, media and tech. VC at Portfolia Rising America Fund investing in diverse-led startups. Named by Worth Magazine one of the "Financial Powerhouses," Business Insider "One of the 25 Women Angels," Marie Claire the "50 Most Connected Women in America" and Medium the "200 Women of Color to Follow on Twitter." Former Guest judge on BET/Centric TV pitch show "Queen Boss.".Stephen Socolof : Steve is a Managing Partner of Tech Council Ventures (“TCV”). TCV is focused on funding early-stage opportunities in New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region. Steve’s interests are in the internet of things, enterprise software (particularly when leveraging lots of data and intelligence), storage, and wireless technologies. He has been a venture capitalist for over 20 years, and is currently on the board of several private and public companies. He is an active member of the National Venture Capital Association as well as the Advisory Board of Global Corporate Venturing.Krishnamurty Kambhampati (KK) : Krishnamurty is a partner at Cloquet Capital Partners making early stage technology investments. He is currently serving as a hands-on mentor/advisor to several early stage startups providing guidance and advice. He is a visiting faculty at Cornell Tech in New York. He co-founded uReach Technologies, Inc., a communications applications and services company, and served as its CEO, until its sale to GENBAND (now Ribbon).Joan Zief : is an active investor in early stage high growth companies and has been leading deals for Golden Seeds since 2008. She is also a Managing Partner of Golden Seeds Fund 2 LP. Prior to 2008, Joan was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Her 40 year career as an equity research analyst specializing in insurance and financial institutions spanned the Wall Street investment banks of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch as well as several buy side firms. She was highly ranked on the Institutional Investor “All American Research Team” for 10 years. Joan currently serves as Treasurer and trustee to the Montclair Art Museum. Joan holds a BA in economics from Smith College and an MBA from NYU Graduate School of Business.
