The Weekend WindDown Episode One: Snowy Saturdays are for Startup Grinding

Snow is on the ground, hot cocoa by my side.

Life is good friends.

On January 8, 2025 Boston New Technology (BNT) and Startup Grind Boston hosted something special, aimed at preparing startups for the upcoming SG Global Pitch Battle - Boston on January 14, 2025. The session brought together a fair few familiar faces and plenty of newcomers as well. While virtual, it held that special feeling you get when something valuable and fun is combined as one.

Not to mention the fact that, for many presenters, this edition of Precision Pitch Practice functioned as training for the big pitch battle coming up on January 14th (link in the comments).

As a key driver for this event, the practice event offered participants a chance to gain critical preparation and exposure ahead of a global competition. The big battle itself, also held virtually, will serve as a gateway for tech-driven startups to compete on an international stage, with winners advancing to regional and global rounds and receiving opportunities such as exhibition packages at the Startup Grind Conference in Silicon Valley this April.

Jason Kraus kicked things off in his usual way -- big smiles, making sure everyone felt welcome and had a chance to learn new things and earn tons of experience in front of fellow founders and mentors like Marc Kitz , Chuck Goldstone , and our team.

The event featured a structured format where participants delivered concise, two-minute pitches to a panel of mentors and peers. Each pitch was followed by detailed feedback to help founders fine-tune their storytelling, delivery, and overall presentation. Mentors included experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals from both BNT and Startup Grind Boston, who provided actionable insights and encouragement.

"This is something (your pitch) that you can use for the competition, or when you're in the room meeting someone at an event or over coffee without a deck in front of you. It's about how you tell your story and get someone excited about your business—especially if they're the right fit." -- Jason

"Start with a clear number—how much are you asking for, and where is it going? Define exactly how you'll use that money. Is it to expand your team? Secure essential licenses? Whatever the case, the focus should be on strategic growth, not just motivating your team." --- Shweta

"You had us hooked based on your style... now it’s about putting a particular kind of bait on that hook dependent upon what your ask would be." --- Steve

Pitch Highlights:

Ilene Marcus took the stage with an energy that immediately drew the room in. She began by painting a vivid picture of her old enamel stove, the kind with round burners and dish pans that she’d been cooking on for 20 years. Over time, the stove became slanted and crooked, forcing her to adapt. Her story of learning to work with a tilted frying pan was both relatable and oddly inspiring—she described how she’d position thicker slices of eggplant closer to the flame, thinner ones higher up, and even cook onions and zucchini together, using the uneven heat to her advantage.

But then came the twist: she upgraded to a perfectly flat stove last year and found herself missing the quirks of her old, sloped setup. For someone living alone, she explained, one-pan cooking is ideal—efficient, sustainable, and simple, without a sink full of dirty dishes afterward. The flat stove, though practical, just didn’t allow her to create the low-effort, high-impact meals she loved.

That’s when Ilene had her lightbulb moment. She created the "Ilene Pan," a sloped frying pan with a gradient that provides different temperature zones while still heating evenly. She dove headfirst into the world of product design, teaching herself CAD, conducting a prior art search (which came back clean), and even building a prototype. With a clear plan and support from Boston New Technology connections like Patent Hacks, she’s now collaborating with designers, consulting lawyers, and validating her product through customer feedback.

Ilene wrapped up her pitch with the same charm that opened it. “So that’s where I am with the Eileen Pan—perfect cooking every time. Join me, lean in, and cook in the right pan!” The audience couldn’t help but lean in themselves, captivated by her journey and the promise of her innovative pan.

Jerrold Shapiro 's pitch began with a heartfelt story that immediately captured the audience's attention. He recounted a moment from his co-founder Cheri Grantham's childhood, when she visited a nursing home with her grandmother -- where many residents were found to be incontinent, and she promised her grandma that she'd try to solve the problem.

Fast forward, and she kept that promise by co-founding Floelle Inc. with Jerrold. He painted a sobering picture: one in four women worldwide—750 million in total—suffer from stress urinary incontinence, experiencing leakage every time they laugh, cough, sneeze, or lift something. Floelle Inc. has a solution: a disposable, patented device that detects leaks before they happen and blocks them, restoring comfort and dignity to millions.

Jerrold spoke with authority about his experienced team, which has decades of expertise working with incontinent women and designing, marketing, and selling medical devices. The product, he said, has been clinically tested and proven effective, addressing a multi-billion-dollar market with huge potential.

The ask was clear and compelling: $5 million to fund an FDA-mandated clinical trial and physician education. With existing reimbursement codes in place for doctors, Jerrold emphasized that adoption and sales growth would be rapid. He closed with an impactful line: “Do well by doing good. Invest in Floelle Inc.”

As Jerrold introduced himself as the president of the company, the audience could feel the weight of both the problem and the opportunity—and the promise of a meaningful solution.

Hugh P. Cam began his pitch with a heartfelt story about his daughter, who was diagnosed with a delay in spatial development at just two years old. Thanks to early intervention programs in Massachusetts, her progress was remarkable, and the experience turned Hugh into a passionate advocate for early diagnosis. He introduced Blue Starman AI with a clear mission: to revolutionize autism and developmental disorder diagnosis by moving from reactive late detection to proactive, data-driven early diagnosis. He highlighted the inefficiencies of the current system—lengthy tests, long waitlists, and delayed outcomes—and presented their innovative solution: a simple blood test that uses AI to analyze gene expression data and detect autism-related signatures with 90% sensitivity, the highest rate to date.

Hugh outlined the immense market opportunity, with the autism diagnosis market valued at $4 billion in the U.S. and $12 billion globally, growing at 8% annually. He emphasized his team’s global expertise across neuroscience, genomics, bioinformatics, and AI, positioning them to tackle this challenge effectively. Closing with a compelling ask for $500,000 in pre-seed funding, Hugh explained the funds would enable CLIA certification, U.S. market launch, and FDA approval to scale globally. His pitch combined personal passion with groundbreaking innovation, leaving the audience inspired by Blue Starman AI’s potential to transform early intervention for autism worldwide.

Pracheer Gupta ta opened his pitch by painting a vivid picture of a common challenge faced by enterprises: teams struggling to manage cloud operations on software built by previous developers, often with no documentation and disconnected tools. These fragmented systems create significant inefficiencies and headaches for current teams. Pracheer introduced his solution: JigSaw ML, a cloud management platform powered by AI agents and a novel software architecture detection technology. This platform brings all cloud operations under one roof, ensuring seamless integration between tasks—a critical feature for optimizing performance and reducing complexity.

He emphasized the massive opportunity in the $200 billion cloud market and highlighted his expertise as an early engineer at AWS and a founding team member of Pinecone, an AI-driven company. With deep insights into the cloud industry, Pracheer and his team are leveraging AI to simplify cloud management. He closed with a clear funding request: $2.5 million to refine their product, achieve production quality, and deploy with design partners. His pitch combined a deep understanding of the problem with a powerful solution, showcasing the potential to transform enterprise cloud operations.

Next, Christian Lopez shared a relatable story about moving to New England and discovering the challenges of dealing with snowstorms as a homeowner. Struggling to find reliable service providers—resorting to waving down plowers and scouring Facebook without success—he was inspired to create SnowGo Mogo. The platform connects homeowners with service providers for hassle-free outdoor maintenance through a subscription-based, white-glove service. SnowGo’s mobile app streamlines the process with tools for property measurement and helps landscaping companies expand beyond their local region, offering a win-win solution for both homeowners and service providers.

Allan Zheng introduced CareerGPT, a platform leveraging agentic AI to revolutionize HR tech. For recruiters, the platform increases LinkedIn outreach response rates through lead scoring, while for job seekers, it streamlines the process with an auto-apply feature. The global HR tech market is valued at $37.66 billion, and even a 1% market penetration presents an $837 million opportunity. CareerGPT has completed its MVP for recruiters and is finalizing the job seeker side, benefiting from emerging AI agent-building resources. With a team of software engineers from Georgia Tech and Northeastern University, all experienced in navigating tough job markets, Allan emphasized their passion for improving HR tech.

The platform has already attracted 500 users, signaling strong demand. On the recruiter side, CareerGPT’s design partner is the VP of recruitment at WinterWyman, while discussions are underway with Northeastern University’s career office to support job seekers. Currently, CareerGPT is seeking accelerator programs or investment opportunities to further develop and scale their innovative solution.

Oluwagbebemi D. Oyeniyi founder of Dialysis X and an engineer specializing in medical devices, opened his pitch by reflecting on a harsh reality he observed during the pandemic. While many stayed home to flatten the curve, dialysis patients faced an impossible choice: remain home and risk dying from chronic kidney disease or go to clinics three times a week and risk exposure to COVID-19. Tragically, many lost their lives. This prompted Niyi to ask a simple yet transformative question: why can’t dialysis treatments be done at home? After consulting with patients, nurses, and nephrologists, he discovered that needles were the greatest barrier to home dialysis adoption.

In response, Niyi assembled a team, including a vascular surgeon and material scientists, to create an innovative access device that eliminates the need for needles. This device makes dialysis less painful, easier, and safer to perform at home. With extensive testing completed and intellectual property secured, Dialysis X is raising a pre-seed round, already 20% committed, to fund animal studies in partnership with Tufts. Niyi ended with a call to action: connecting with clinicians, investors, or anyone passionate about improving dialysis care.

Michel E. Moravia, MBA, MSE , the day's final presenter, delivered a compelling pitch about his company, QMB Inc., and their groundbreaking platform, Qualiverse. As a regulatory expert with over 15 years of experience and more than a dozen FDA clearances and approvals under his belt, Michel painted a grim picture of the medtech industry's current regulatory process. He described it as a costly and time-consuming nightmare, with product approvals taking 3 to 7 years, costing $24 million, and facing a staggering 75% rejection rate. Qualiverse tackles this problem head-on by automating the tedious work, accelerating the generation of technical documents, and significantly de-risking the FDA submission process, boasting an impressive accuracy rate of 97.5%.

Michel emphasized that Qualiverse isn’t just an idea—it’s a proven solution with paid pilots already generating an annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the seven figures. Backed by a tier-one VC, the company is well-positioned to revolutionize the medtech regulatory process. He closed with a call to action, inviting others to join QMB in transforming a broken system and shaping the future of work for medtech professionals.

Mentor Treasures:

1. Clarity and Audience Understanding (Chuck & Shweta)

• Chuck emphasized the importance of differentiation and memorability, suggesting that presenters must clearly convey why their solution is unique and impactful. He highlighted starting with a strong hook or statistic to engage and end with a compelling call to action.
• Shweta reinforced that pitches should be tailored to the audience, with clear and simple language. She recommended founders consider if they’re addressing general public, investors, or partners to frame their solutions appropriately.

2. Call to Action and Investment Specificity (Shweta & Jason)

• Shweta advised that specificity in asks is crucial, noting that vague or motivational claims about funding (e.g., “to motivate the team”) are ineffective. Founders should clarify the exact allocation of funds (e.g., team expansion, prototype development, regulatory compliance).
• Jason added that presenting traction early, such as users, partnerships, or ARR, provides credibility and demonstrates progress before addressing funding needs.

3. The Role of Storytelling (Jason & Chuck)

• Jason and Chuck underscored storytelling's power in pitches. Jason suggested weaving personal connections or anecdotes to ground the problem and solution, making it relatable and memorable.
• Chuck stressed starting with an engaging narrative and transitioning seamlessly into the solution while keeping the audience focused.

4. Feedback on Presentation Style (Steve & Marc)

• Steve noted that presenting with confidence and clarity, highlighting team dynamics and superpowers, can alleviate concerns about a founder's capacity to lead. He advised avoiding over-reliance on technical expertise as a team’s sole strength.
• Marc added that removing verbal fillers and ensuring logical transitions between ideas would enhance the pitch's flow and professionalism.

5. Investor Focus and Market Validation (Jason & Shweta)

• Both Jason and Shweta emphasized the importance of market validation. Founders should articulate customer feedback, partnerships, or pilot results to establish their product's relevance and scalability.
• Shweta suggested aligning the pitch with the product's market readiness stage (e.g., early-stage validation versus pitching for growth capital) and explicitly differentiating the solution in crowded markets.

That's A Wrap:

In wrapping up this robust Precision Pitch Practice session, it once again served as a platform for founders to refine their narratives, connect emotionally with their audience, and emphasize the unique value propositions of their innovations -- which is exactly what Marsh Sutherland envisioned for it way back when following Techstars Startup Weekend Boston '23. Marsh, if you're reading this, we want you back soon!

The engaging feedback from experienced mentors highlighted the significance of clarity, memorability, and differentiation in pitching to ensure lasting impact. Founders left with actionable insights to enhance their pitches, whether for investors, partners, or customers.

This session also reinforced the partnership between Boston New Technology (BNT) Startup Grind Boston, and Prepare 4 VC .

Together, they demonstrated their commitment to fostering a thriving ecosystem for startups, blending BNT's community-driven facilitation and P4VC's focus on early-stage education with Startup Grind's global reach. Amidst fragmentation, it's a great thing to set a unified stage underscoring the collective strength of Boston’s startup ecosystem. Through such efforts, these organizations continue to bridge the gap between innovative ideas and the resources needed to bring them to life, solidifying their bond as key players in the entrepreneurial landscape.

In the next edition of The WindDown which drops tomorrow afternoon...I'll be focusing on more of a variety pack of topics -- it should be tons of fun :)