And we were the lucky pitch deck designers on call!
Last May, local enterprise Qualcomm (tech leader in mobile innovation) launched the first session of a Techstars Accelerator in its Research Center. Four months later, the robot-focused startups pitched in front of several hundred investors, out-of-towners and San Diego leaders.
For us, it started during the EvoNexus Demo Day on the UCSD campus.
Out to support a friend — who also happened to be a branding client — it was the first networking event in a while.
We arrived just in time and filed into the auditorium, sitting down directly behind the TechStars team.
TechStars and EvoNexus invest in startups and host Demo Days annually to showcase the startup companies in their accelerator or incubator program.
After the presentations, TechStars invited us to come see the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator Demo Day pitches — the TechStars’ Demos were just a few weeks away.
The Qualcomm campus is huge, and the Research Center is decked out in tech.
The Robotics Accelerator Lab looks like it’s straight out of the movies – robots, drones, tables stacked with monitors, tools and parts, floor to ceiling glass walls, and inventors from around the world.
The demo’s have already begun when we arrive, and we sit in.
One after the other, each company is more impressive than the last.
Techstars scheduled us to come back the next day and host office hours to anyone that wanted a consultation.
A handful of founders met with us, and we ended up working with three companies over seven days. to shape their presentations.
Demo Day arrived with excitement and curiosity. The venue was beautiful and fitting for the event. People streamed out of the conference hall, waiting for entry. We grabbed a coffee and checked in.
All the startups in their tee shirts, familiar faces everywhere.
We found seats and settled in. They had a pair of headphones on each chair. Fancy.
The presentations began with the sponsor, Qualcomm, rolling out new robot technology. Flying drones across stage and using a leaf blower to prove performance.
Then the demo’s began. Carbon Robotics first. The founder is charismatic and the tech is cool. onto the next and the next. Then our first founder takes the stage, and kills it.
The feeling of seeing your hard work up on screen — the backdrop for an inventors pitch, in front of a few hundred people.