The Watercooler: Episode 22
Well folks — here we are: Once again at The Watercooler. It’s obviously been a very week. With all that’s happening around us, one of the things I’ve gratefully grabbed hold on to to steady myself is the spirit and sincerity of our startup community.
We’re a tough bunch — of course we’re also only human, but I’m very thankful to all of you who are reading this for who you are and what you’re doing. I don’t have all the answers and am sure we’ve all had it up to here with the “vague positivity” we’ve seen around social lately. Things suck…but maybe, in admitting that we’re not doing very well right now, we can find a way out of this cycle — these troubleome remnants belonging to a year I’d personally love to cram into an airlock and send into space for all eternity!
Now…let’s indulge in some interesting things.
Prepare4VC: Digging This Demo Day
The Prepare4VC team is inviting the public to tune into a virtual demo day on January 18th beginning at 12:00PM. Presentations provided by the current cohort will be followed by a Q&A session. Lots of networking and special surprises are expected.
Here’s a sneak peek of the shining stars who will be showcasing their startups:
Tino Go, CEO of Baru- B2B and B2C company, BARU, uses augmented reality tech to radically transform manufacturing. In our first product category, household wood furniture, we have a $9 billion operational advantage over others in the industry. At the same time, we’re supporting local businesses, creating hometown jobs, and saving the environment.
Richard Norris, CEO of Ion Medical Safety- We are addressing a large problem with a huge healthcare market opportunity that will revolutionize surgery. I founded ION Medical Safety because medical errors in the U.S. are harming 400,000 people a year. Our PRECISE Surgical System will prevent medical errors and save lives. Conversations with Johns Hopkins and Penn State University have indicated they want our system. Everywhere the knife touches the skin in the U.S. is a market opportunity of $21 billion and internationally a $126 billion.
ION Medical Safety will offer the PRECISE Surgical System to providers for zero cost. The PRECISE TECH Corporation will drive profits through 9 revenue streams including custom implementations, training and certifications, clinical franchising and malpractice insurance.
Featured judges will include —
David Meltzer: Meltzer is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and formerly served as CEO of the renowned Leigh (“Lee”) Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire.
His life’s mission is to empower OVER 1 BILLION people to be happy! This simple yet powerful mission has led him on an incredible journey to provide one thing…VALUE. In all his content, and communication that’s exactly what you’ll receive. As part of that mission, for the past 20 years, he’s been providing free weekly trainings to empower others to empower others to be happy.
Doug Zingale: Career focused on venture capital, mergers and acquisitions and strategic transactions. Currently, Founder at Blue Goose Capital and Plympton Associates. Also, Member at MIT Alumni Angels (Tech and Life Sciences Groups) and Sky Ventures; Executive MBA Faculty at ESADE; and Start-up Advisor at CIMIT, Harvard Business School and Richi Entrepreneurs. Previously, General Manager for Strategic Partnerships at Microsoft; Chief Executive Officer at 24/7 Solar; Founder at hotdotTV and Ignite Technology Ventures; Co-Chairman of Business Group at Mintz; Principal Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig; Analyst at Bain & Company; and Start-up Advisor at TechStars, Dat Ventures and Parallel18.
Boundless Wholesomeness: Bernice Galebach
Bernice Galebach has been working on something rather sweet and savoury lately: the fearless founder and community figure has recently established Boundless by Bernice. Stating that she’d started a journey of self-discovery and well-being during the pandemic, Galebach has blended together a cool mixture of education, empowerment and awareness:
It’s wild how when we make conscientious decisions, it has an extraordinary impact on the world around us. I hope that my curiosity of food, sustainability, and meditation, will inspire you all to seize the day and take back your vitality for life!
For anyone interested in the ways of wellness, I highly recommend her Insta which features a wide assortment of recipes and enriching observations.
Tiphaine Le Roux’s Bonne Voyage
Tiphaine Le Roux has left Boston…and we’re already feeling the unfortunate effects of her departure. I was fortunate enough to connect the dots with Tiph over the course of her stay and can state unequivocally that she is:
- Thoughtful in her every approach
- Intelligent as hell.
- Possesses a real love of people.
- Has probably (like you) already seen what I’m doing with this acronym.
Regarding the last point, the reason she’s likely been able to figure out my gesture is because Tiph is also a curious dot connector who adoress solving problems while getting social.
As a farewell present to all of us, she left behind an amazing article. Here’s one of my absolute favourite excerpts:
YES we should focus on selling value and NOT the features. But when the product features don’t fully meet client technical expectations, there’s no surprise to lose the deal to a competitor who does meet all requirements (unless the customer’s CEO is your bff, but that’s another story).
Thank god, only fools never change their minds!
We quickly made the necessary with the Engineering and product teams in France to ensure our product evolution would include features increasingly needed.
Now… let’s not fool ourselves here, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
What’s This? It’s Ad-Venture Lane!
Venture Lane did some pretty spectacular work last year, hosting more than 90 virtual events, their mentor network surpassed 200 entrepreneurs/investors/experts AND over 15 new member companies were welcomed into the fold.
Keep an eye on their calendar for future ad’ventures.
Finally Some Encouraging Words….
Take it easy crew…
I’ll see you next week!
