As part of a nation-wide tour to find promising business concepts, Entrepreneur Ventures partnered with the EC to host The Consumer Challenge, a pitch competition for consumer-focused startups.
Four local founders presented their company for a chance to win a spot on Season 11 of Elevator Pitch, an exciting series showcasing emerging startups produced by Entrepreneur Media.
The finalists included:
● Aabesh De with Flora
● Nikki Sanz with Giggs
● Justin Gray with Potluck
● Wesley Belden with Raise Financial
Joining us as judges from Entrepreneur Ventures were Jonathan Hung, angel investor and VC and Danny Beckett, serial entrepreneur and VC. Entrepreneur Ventures is a venture firm of California-based Entrepreneur Media with a focus of preseed investing for startups under 20 million.
“We are trying to get them traction and sales as quickly as possible,” shares Beckett.
Hung, a judge on Elevator Pitch continued, “I love what you guys (at NEC) are doing because you are really getting the word out.” He expressed the importance of networking when trying to get your company to the next level of funding.
Networking is exactly what we’ve seen from these entrepreneurs who’ve made their face known in Nashville. From pitching at the 3686 conference hosted by LaunchTN, to showing up at EC and ecosystem-wide events, these four entrepreneurs have one thing in common: they put themselves out there.
After four impressive pitches, the judges unveiled who will be joining them for another pitch – this time in just 60 seconds!
Congratulations to the winners selected to move on to pitch on season 11 of The Elevator Pitch: Nikki Sanz, Founder of Giggs and Aabesh De, Founder of Flora.
Danny Beckett, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, expressed his excitement about being in Nashville. With the city’s increased energy, tourism and so many other exciting things happening, it’s drawing a lot of attention and that spans into the VC world. We’ve heard a familiar sentiment from our friend Steve Case, also a friend of Buckett!
A special thanks to our Capital Connector, Haley Zapolski, for organizing this event and continuing to work with Nashville entrepreneurs, by providing them more opportunities to receive funding and become capital ready.
