SkyDeck's Pad-13 Pitch Competition (Batch 20)
Join Us for the Pad-13 In-Person Pitch Competition
We are pleased to invite you to our Pad-13 Pitch Competition, an engaging in-person event where promising founders will present their startup ideas to a panel of experienced judges and a community of supporters.
This pitch event will be held in the style of American Idol, combining constructive feedback, audience participation, and plenty of opportunities to connect. Whether you are an investor, mentor, founder, or friend of SkyDeck, this is a chance to discover innovative ideas and meet the people behind them.
During the event, you’ll:
Hear pitches from ten Pad-13 startups tackling diverse challenges and industries.
Gain insights from judges who will share feedback and perspectives on each presentation.
Participate in selecting an Audience Favorite, alongside the judges’ choice of the winning startup.
Network with founders, advisors, and members of the SkyDeck community over appetizers following the pitches.
Event Schedule
3:45 – 4:00 PM – Check-in
4:00 – 4:05 PM – Welcome Remarks & Introduction
4:05 – 4:10 PM – Judges’ Introductions
4:10 – 5:20 PM – Startup Pitches & Judge Feedback
5:20 – 5:30 PM – Announcement of Winners & Closing Remarks
5:30 – 6:30 PM – Networking Reception with Appetizers
About the Judges
Sibyl Chen is the General Manager at Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s premier startup accelerator. In this role, she advises early-stage founders, oversees all program operations, and leads a global community of over 850 advisors and mentors. A former entrepreneur who built and led two companies, Sibyl began her career in the entertainment industry, working at the top talent agency, CAA, where she brokered financing and distribution for movies. She first joined SkyDeck as an advisor in 2018 before transitioning to a full-time role in 2019. Sibyl holds a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.
David Riemer is the founder of Box Out Industries where he works with entrepreneurs, business professionals, and artists to focus their ideas through the power of narrative. In short, he helps people get their stories straight.
Alejandra Vergara is a Senior Associate at Bee Partners, a pre-seed focused deep tech firm based in San Francisco. She joined Bee two years ago and has since partnered with the majority of Fund III and IV Founders in some capacity, mostly supporting on GTM strategy and execution. Ale leads Bee's Human-Machine Interaction investment focus at Bee, which is defined as software that augments human potential across industries and job functions. She spends most of her time on deal flow generation and due diligence. She's created and hosted recurring events for (future) founders and early-stage investors and built Bee's internal research repository.
SkyDeck mentors, advisors, alumni founders, investors, and friends are all invited to join us for this event.
📍 Please note: This competition will take place in person only.
We look forward to welcoming you and sharing an afternoon of ideas, learning, and community - followed by networking and appetizers.
To learn more, visit Mercury.com. Apply for an account through this link - http://mercury.com/partner/skydeck