Casting Big Dreams: Comcast-Sponsored Startups Pitch to Investors in NYC

Comcast Ventures and Dreamit Ventures offer innovative companies a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It was the chance of a lifetime. Seated before a dozen anxious entrepreneurs were potential investors with the capital to take their business to the next level.

A seven minute presentation was the culmination of years of dreams, hard work, and the DreamIt NYC 2014 accelerator program.  For many entrepreneurs, Demo Day was the first time they presented to an audience of this caliber, and their anxiety was distinct. 

Standing in the middle of the stage, Obinna Emenike, uVore’s Demo Day presenter and Chief Executive Officer used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate how uVore’s mobile app solves the common frustrations restaurant customers face when they can’t find their server to order food or pay for meals.  uVore’s app enables restaurant patrons to order and pay for meals using their mobile device, which reduces average meal times by 10-minutes, and even increases the likelihood that customers will order more food since they have the ability to self-order. 

"This was the first time I presented to an audience of this size, I was a bit nervous, but Demo Day was a great experience," said Emenike. 

In its third consecutive year, Demo Day NYC 2014, hosted by Comcast Ventures and DreamIt featured phenomenal startup companies who delivered engaging demonstrations of their innovative technology business models to more than 350 potential investors, industry executives, customers, and the press.   

Eminke was among a select group of startup founders participating in the DreamIt Access Accelerator Program, which provided four minority-led startups with the opportunity to build their companies and test their business models with potential customers.

The 2014 DreamIt Access Accelerator program Demo Day participants included:

• Acorn a mobile app that lets users send location-triggered reminders and messages to themselves and others at the right place and time. 

• Browsy with one click, Browsy uses image recognition to connect fashion pins on Pinterest boards to retail sites selling the same product at the lowest price available. 

• Fiestah a web-based platform that streamlines the event planning process and the way organizers and vendors plan and transact together.

• uVore a mobile app that allows customers to order, pay for, and rate their meals in restaurants on their own smartphones. 

All twelve presenting companies participated in Comcast Ventures and DreamIt’s three month long accelerator program that involved intensive coaching and mentorship, a collaborative workspace, and access to exclusive opportunities to engage with leading entrepreneurs, business executives, and service providers. 

Emenike was thoroughly impressed with how the DreamIt Access Program assisted in the development of their mobile app.  "The DreamIt Access program really helped us to think strategically about our product and the market.  We moved from a tablet base platform to a mobile base platform which provides us with more capital efficiency, flexibility, and overall, a better product," said Emenike. 

In partnership with Philadelphia- based DreamIt, Comcast Ventures has sponsored more than 20 minority-led technology startups since 2011.