On May 1, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association (CMCAA) hosted the Angel Summit. The Summit brought together alumni and students interested in starting and investing in entrepreneurial ventures.
Mimicking the premise of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” the ventures presenting their platforms included Happydesk, Inc., led by Dorothy Bright ’89; Sifty, led by Varun Puri ’16 and Dhruv Manchala ’16; Boomerang Messenger, led by Branden Windle ’11 and Dr. Elizabeth Sweedyk (HMC); and Serengetee, led by Jeffrey Steitz ’13.
Judges/panelists included Wayne Slavitt ’80, who moderated the event, Abie Katz ’13, Carol Kazmer ’80, Matthew Goldman ’03, James Montgomery P’15, Mark N. Schwartz ’78, and Arielle Zuckerberg ’11—all of whom asked questions and offered feedback to the presenters.
“The turnout was terrific and participants heard some thoughtful advice about best practices for investing in early stage companies and also compelling pitches of venture ideas ranging from an innovative way to integrate and manage the information flows from social media to a unique software solution for how shared office spaces are sold and accessed,” said Janet Kiholm Smith, director of CIE and Van Tobel Professor of Economics.
The winner of the pitch competition (CMC Angel Summit Innovator Challenge Award) was Daniel Black ’09, who is CEO and founder of Glass Media, specializing in cloud-based storefront projection marketing.
“This was a great opportunity for entrepreneurially-minded alumni and students to connect, and to showcase their ventures,” said Smith.
Next year’s Angel Summit will happen on April 29, 2016. Learn more (http://cie.cmc.edu/event/cmc-angel-summit/)