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Accelerate This Pitches: Startups introduce themselves to Springfield

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When it comes to talking startup viability, a first impression can make all the difference. Just ask Jason Arend.

When the CEO of Eagle Speak and his co-founders took to The eFactory stage Aug. 10 for a pitch to introduce their product, it wasn’t uncharted territory. Over the past year, the team has racked up wins at pitch contests. The first, Startup Weekend, marked the birth of the company’s product, and the second, Spin 66 Innovation Summit, came with $5,000.

With no prizes on the line, last week’s event – part of a meet and greet to introduce The eFactory’s first business accelerator cohort and their entrepreneurial ideas to the public – should have been no sweat. But Arend said when the business is in the spotlight, the stakes are always high.

“The importance doesn’t change whether it’s a competition or a friendly meet and greet,” Arend said, of Eagle Speak’s desktop communications platform. “Either way, you’re in front of an audience, trying to do your best to illustrate what the company and the product are about.”

Rethinking biz
Like Eagle Speak, Andrew Goodall’s company The Daily Scholar has made the rounds on the local pitch circuit, including at Spin 66 and the eFactory’s 1 Million Cups series in 2015.

Although co-founder Goodall said The eFactory pitch resembled those previous presentations in terms of style, setting and audience, the The Daily Scholar has evolved in the interim – making succinct explanation difficult. Because the company is on the hunt for potential investors and customers, he’s had to drill down on the description.

“That has proved to be a challenge because it is a hybrid,” Goodall said, noting up until last week the software had been marketed as a publication platform but now more closely resembles a social media app mixed with a learning management system such as Blackboard or Canvas. “We realized ‘publication platform’ is somewhat misleading, so we have two we’re using simultaneously: educational engagement software and learning enhancement or engagement software.”

Focusing on product origins and core features also helped Goodall pinpoint the company’s target client segment, something lead mentor Cody Stringer, entrepreneurial specialist at Mercy Research and Development, suggested in their first one-on-one meeting. Since initially developing the product two years ago, Goodall said he and co-founder Tim Dygon have received interest from other companies in areas of e-commerce, advertising and media publications to adapt The Daily Scholar to their needs. Speaking with Stringer, Goodall said, helped re-establish their primary customer’s identity.

“The biggest takeaway from that was you have so many vertical markets with this type of product you have to focus on one or two to aggressively pursue from the get-go, and once you have the business process established you can begin to expand,” Goodall said.

CEO Eric Ham said the Aug. 10 pitch was Mofin Labs’ first presentation since being formed roughly three weeks ago. In preparation, Ham and co-founder Josh Willis re-evaluated their market.

With Mofin Labs’ first product dubbed Secure Statements scheduled for release to four Missouri credit unions in late October, Ham said the company decided to build a local consumer base before scaling.

“There’s 11,000-plus community banks and credit unions today, but our focus is going to be on the 40 area banks and credit unions, so we can fine tune our message,” Ham said during the presentation.

Beta testing
ShopZeely CEO Michael Onaolapo said the personal shopping app’s target audience is an integral part of the company’s first pitch. Prior to joining the accelerator program, ShopZeely launched a test among 200 shoppers and 100 beta users and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to field test features, such as the timing of push notifications and streaming live video without fail rates or dropped calls. Now, the company has a completed Android-compatible app and is working on a version for iOS as well as web and tablet interfaces.

Onaolapo, who has participated in Startup Weekend presentations with other companies, said it was important data from the beta be worked into the company’s introduction to Springfield’s business community.

“In no formal setting have we ever pitched ShopZeely, so this is the first time that anyone has heard of the product,” Onaolapo said prior to event.

Arend said Eagle Speak constantly is revamping and updating pitch slides and transcripts, trying to incorporate elements from Q&A sessions that typically follow the initial presentation. He said those questions usually are a good indicator for where a company needs better explanation or more specific details so it doesn’t lose the audience.

“We try to stay away from technical vocabulary in general – if anything, you want to invoke a feeling for something that the audience can relate to,” Arend said.

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