We made it in to the Angel Venture Fair! — ME.mory — Remember Life
Good Afternoon Everyone!
Thomas here. So much has happened since the last update one month ago that I should just get right into it.
The best news is that we were one of the teams chosen to participate in the “Angel Venture Fair” (www.angelventurefair.com) to be held at the Union League here in Philadelphia on May 4th. This is a huge deal for us. The Angel Venture Fair (AVF) costs attendees ~$150 for a ticket.
Being selected to present at AVF was not easy. We made it through two elimination rounds such that out of 180 companies, we are now in the final thirty, give or take a few. Such is a sign that ME.mory has been accepted as having enough value and investment potential. We have received important feedback along the way, and so we will be in prime shape to speak with investors on 5/4/18.
As a result of being chosen, we will be provided (among other items):
- One minute to pitch to investors at the start of the day.
- Thirty seconds to pitch again to investors after lunch.
- Our names with information in a print and electronic book (with the electronic book emailed to all of the chapters of the Angel Capital Association, not just the Philadelphia-based chapter).
- A booth such that investors may approach us throughout the day to learn just what ME.mory is all about.
While Nicodemus (and likely another team member) will be able to attend, I will not be present as I booked tickets long ago to be in South Korea during that time. I cannot overstate how excited I am to visit my middle school and to meet with a number of my former students, a whole decade later. I know I will have plenty to share from that trip.
Other items:
-I made an appearance at the “Mind Your Brain Conference” held at Penn Medicine on March 23rd: http://www.med.upenn.edu/cbir/Mind-Your-Brain-Conference.html. It was a pleasure to reconnect with a variety of folks I know from the brain injury community, while also sharing about ME.mory to folks I had never met before.
-Book update: The good news? I did finish reviewing the edited manuscript. I’ve since been making the changes desired to reduce the page count and otherwise improve this work. Attempting to reduce all there matters as this project turned into a behemoth of a book, clocking in at nearly three-hundred pages. The not-so-good news? Both progress and life happened in turns. While I had completed two hours yesterday (instead of my usual hour/day), and would like to do two hours today too, I am still far behind where I would like to be. As my progress is self-imposed such is OK, but it’s “just another thing” that confirms what more I have to handle to feel “caught up”. My current goal is to finish reducing the page count and making this round of edits before I return to Seoul (for a trip ten years after I had been a teacher there), such that the book is completely out of my mind while I am there, giving others the chance to read the latest version.
-Fun: So much of efforts have been focused on my career, on ME.mory, on planning to move, on “everything”, so much so that I remind myself to relax too. I have been glad to create the time to enjoy myself carefree by seeing a variety of comedians (Rachel Feinstein, Michael Kosta, Ali Siddiq), musicians (Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Luke O’ Reilly Trio with Alita Moses), and theater acts (“Small Mouth Sounds”). Easter weekend was spent with my family. My partner and I even celebrated our anniversary by rock-climbing. What a welcome change of pace that had been. 🙂
What lies ahead?:
1. We should know by the end of this week if we are going to be among the finalists, to pitch ME.mory at the “Be Your Own Boss Bowl” (BYOBB) to be held at Temple University: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/20th-annual-be-your-own-boss-bowl-live-pitch-competition-tickets-44192148907
This is another huge opportunity for us. There are tens of thousands of dollars available should we be chosen to pitch and then be selected for investment from those pitching. I have worked closely with a strong business mentor in preparing ourselves for this event. I note “strong” as the company he mentored last year had been awarded tens of thousands of dollars. If only we receive the same!
2. The “No Barriers Podcast” episode for which I had been interviewed is still slated to be released, although the exact date is TBD.
3. Other items which I am sure will surprise me given how I’m currently buried by all matter of stuff.
OK. Let’s stop here for today, as this post is long enough.
Farewell!
Originally published at https://www.yourdigitalmemory.com on April 4, 2018.
