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Entrepreneurs from Upstate, Philly, NYC and beyond, visited The Tech Garden in Syracuse, NY to pitch their ideas hoping to become nominees into the StartFast class of 2014. With only 5 minutes to sway the panel, the energy and enthusiasm was elevated. Narrowed down from over 1000+ candidates, the StartFast panel and mentors were looking for the final X-factor from the teams in order to funnel the field to their final selections.
In the opening remarks delivered by Martin Babinec, he spoke of his journey as an entrepreneur. Babinec shared 3 main philosophies he focuses on regarding being a successful entrepreneur:
“Knowing how to pick the right team, followed by putting the team ahead of myself, and then delivering on expectations that you set, which ultimately determines your success as an entrepreneur.”
“My ambition is to work myself out of a job,” stated Babinec. And with that, the tone was set for the day.
Left: Devin Daly, CEO of Swipe to Spin / Right: Andrew Farah, Founder at Rounded
StartFast’s class of 2013 and CEO of Swipe to Spin Devin Daly, spoke to the 15 teams regarding his experience going through the program. “StartFast is a game changer. I learned a lot about myself; it was an introspective program, very challenging, and an intense period of time and growth. You are provided with exposure to world-class players, mentors, and business professionals. Really tap into them; use it to your full advantage.”
The power and commitment of StartFast doesn’t end after the summer program is over. “Do you still speak with mentors after program?” asked a member of the audience. Devin replied, “Yes, absolutely, probably daily.”
Chuck Storman, Managing Director of StartFast drove this point home even further by stating, “Actually we went on a sales call last week at Zappos together. We {StartFast Venture Accelerator} aspire to be the last accelerator you go through.”
By: Jonathan Grutka
@jonathan_grutka