Trojan founders know: TroyLabs’ DEMO day is a big deal. It is USC’s biggest startup exhibition.
This year’s highly anticipated event from the student-run venture platform — in virtual form — happens Friday, April 16, and there is still time to RSVP. The annual event regularly attracts top investors, industry professionals and over 1,000 attendees.
TroyLabs receives a competitive pool of applications from Trojan founders: alumni, students and faculty. DEMO day showcases 50 of the most innovative Trojan startups in the exhibition. Five of them face off in the pitch competition sponsored by the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Last year’s winners have some impressive success stories. First-place Atomus 3-D printing has partnered with the U.S. Marines and Air Force, and second-place Perch Credit went on to raise $2.5 million in seed money and received support from influencers like Jay Z.
In addition to the exhibition and pitch competition, attendees get access to expert speakers, workshops, networking sessions, free services from sponsors, and individual consulting on everything from branding to pitching on stage. One of the sponsors, Amazon Web Services, is contributing $1,000 credit to each participating company.
And while taking such a highly interactive event online posed even more challenges than the team expected, they have put together a dynamic and exciting event on the Hopin platform, with virtual booths to keep the intimate feeling of the in-person event.
DEMO day programming kicks off with a presentation from Amazon Web Services, “10 Mistakes Founders Make When Starting on AWS,” followed by a talk by Alon Goren of blockchain venture studio Draper Goren Holm on “Raising Early-Stage Funding.” After the exhibition, Christina de la Peña (Forbes 30 under 30) speaks about women in the tech space, followed by a panel discussion on “Preparing for Web3.”
According to President Samika Tara ’21, the focus of TroyLabs is: “by students, for students.” “We really try to make DEMO day about everything we can do to help Trojan founders.”
Watch a video of DEMO Day here.
Build, Scale, Demo, Ignite
TroyLabs has been a force for entrepreneurship and innovation, galvanizing Trojan founders and creating a comprehensive pipeline for startup development. The group has nurtured founders that have gone on to build impactful companies and raise millions of dollars.
TroyLabs boasts 130 members and a core team of 30, all with a passion to help students, faculty and alumni with their new enterprises. The team has worked tirelessly to build out their four initiatives: build, scale, demo, and ignite. Because of these initiatives, this past year, more than 100 students from around the world were able to stay plugged into the USC startup ecosystem, with round-the-clock zoom calls, 30+ iMessage group chats, and constant communication through social media channels.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/147189554921
