Funding Breakthrough Lab: Cohort Alpha Pitch Day! Investor + Founder Networking!

​Join us for Funding Breakthrough Lab's final pitch day for Cohort Alpha!

Hear from one of Funding Breakthrough Lab's top speakers Damien Foord who's worked with a16z Founders and for a16z!

If you're curious about our accelerator come and network with our members and speakers to hear from them personally!

Join us for some light snacks and drinks as we watch Cohort Alpha Pitch their startups.

Come join if:

• ​You're an investor and looking to invest in angle & pre-seed stage companies

• ​You're founder looking to join an pre-accelerator and want a supportive community

• ​You're curious about latest innovative ideas

​Agenda:

​5:00-5:30pm Reception + Networking
5:30-6:00pm Behavioral Science of Pitching by Damien Foord
6:00-8:00pm FBL Pitches + Q&A
8:00-8:30pm Networking

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Speaker

​Damien Foord has worked with a16z and advises startups on pitching from the perspective of behavioral science and pyschology. Working mostly with Series A & B startups, he is a seasoned brand marketing executive with 18 years of experience leading high-impact initiatives across a wide range of industries, both in domestic and international markets. Renowned for his strategic vision and creative acumen, he has spearheaded innovative campaigns for global brands including LinkedIn, Adobe, and Tesla, consistently driving measurable growth and successfully navigating complex business challenges.

​Judges/Investors:

​Cai Chen is an investor at Hat-Trick Capital and co-founder of Future Builders – 1 to 1. A former AI/ML strategist at Apple and product strategist at Uber, she backs immigrant founders from pre-seed to Series A (checks of $500K–$3 M) in vertical SaaS, consumer and robotics—and helps them navigate career pivots, visa challenges and language gaps.

​Babak Rasolzadeh is an angel investor and machine learning engineer at Apple, with a deep focus on AI, robotics, and frontier technologies. He backs early-stage startups building at the edge of applied intelligence—especially where software meets the physical world. Previously, Babak helped architect ML systems for embedded and edge devices, and he brings a global perspective shaped by living and working across the U.S. and Europe.

​Craig Thayer a Venture Partner at Mighty Oaks Capital. He is a CTO, Entrepreneur, Engineering Leader, Investor.  Hyper-growth expert with experience scaling startups from employee #1 to $40B IPO and technology solutions from zero to 45M DAU.

​Radu Skutara is a Venture Partner at VU Ventures.

​Sajjad Masud is a tech entrepreneur and AI-focused product leader with deep experience building and scaling enterprise software. Most recently CEO of Simplicant, he led innovation in talent acquisition and enterprise SaaS. A mentor, advisor, and investor, Sajjad works closely with early-stage startups and co-founded the HBS Alumni Angels Association. His product leadership spans Fortune 500 companies to high-growth startups, with deep expertise in product-market fit, product-led growth, and go-to-market strategy. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MSE in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan.

​Naveen Kumar, KFC Ventures
From humble beginnings Naveen Kumar has turned his passion for building large technology businesses into a massive portfolio which is now spread across 44 countries, with a workforce of over 31,000 employees.

​He is well-known in the technology industry and is rapidly expanding his presence in the world of venture capital. Renowned for his investments in technology companies and multiple startups, Naveen has established a strong track record with the support of Karma Free Capital Ventures.

​Nikul Bhatt, KFC Ventures
Versatile Senior Partner skilled at providing technology direction at a enterprise, solution and platform level. Experienced in leading creating robust, scalable products. Able to understand architecture from multiple perspectives and communicate those views to all aspects of the organization from leadership, product, and engineering. Strong ability to see the 'big picture' and able to implement strategies that align tasks, people, and technologies.

​Adele Shen, Growth Investor at TPG

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Companies Pitching

​For Women's Health
Intelligent Love
Casual Recovery Enterprises
LE VERE, Inc.

• ​LE VERE is a mobile Insurtech app that catalogs personal belongings, helps grow net worth, and expedites insurance processes.

​Flawk
Sajaii
Chatterlytics
Radixical Labs
Mindful AI

• ​Your Personal AI Therapist & Companion - A new approach to mental health support, personalized, scalable, affordable, 24/7 availability

​NotaAI

• ​Nota AI is an autonomous end-to-end testing platform that integrates directly into developer workflows - freeing up QA, reducing manual effort, and accelerating product velocity.

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Hosts:

​​The Funding Breakthrough Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pre-accelerator connected to the Not Too Crazy WhatsApp community. We empower founders with education, networks, and resources to unlock their potential while championing diversity, inclusion, and authenticity. Founded by Natalie Pan, an engineer, community builder and coach. ​Join our WhatsApp community here and luma here. Book a peak startup strategy session here