Two Sacramento startups have made the cut and have been selected to pitch at the Founder Showcase with keynote speaker Jason Calacanis on February 10th. Humaxa founder Carolyn Peer and Fanalyze founder Juan Juan were selected out of 200 applicants for this exciting opportunity. Both Juan and Carolyn are alumni of Sacramento’s first Founder Institute cohort in 2017 as well as StartupSac’s first Warm-Up Pitch event in December 2018.
Juan Juan’s startup Fanalyze® is a sports search engine and analysis platform to speed up research for fantasy sports and sports betting while providing users aggregated relevant data to help with winning decisions. We featured Juan and his startup in a recent startup spotlight.
Carolyn Peer’s startup Humaxa addresses employee engagement and performance through a fun, modern AI assistant. It predicts which actions will motivate employees to engage and perform their best, and offers to initiate those actions – things like smart group discussions, etc. Check out our interview with Humaxa founder Carolyn Peer.
Both Juan and Carolyn believe that the Founder Institute program has been influential in their success. “Going through Founder Institute Sacramento was very challenging but the support from Mariah Lichtenstern, directors, mentors, and other founders helped me get to the finish line. What I valued the most was pitching my startup, as founders pitched at every session. I kept improving and continue to practice to make sure I am ready for the next pitch,” said Juan.
Carolyn is also quick to acknowledge the impact that the Founder Institute program and cohort had on her startup journey. “In 2017, I took the biggest leap of faith I’d ever taken: I left my job leading one of ADP’s Learning & Performance organizations to return to the startup world – this time as a founder. The Founder Institute program was an exercise in “tough love” and at the time, I didn’t understand why it had to be that way. Now I get it. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to do the impossible is to do the impossible together. I am thankful for all who have helped me and for this opportunity to present at the Founder Showcase on February 10th!”
This event will be attended by hundreds of international angels, venture capitalists, media, entrepreneurs, and executives, and feature renowned entrepreneur and angel investor Jason Calacanis as the Keynote Speaker. In addition to the opportunity to pitch, there will also be networking opportunities to connect with others.
The event is free to attend. Register here & support your local Sacramento startups!
Date: Feb 10, 2021
Time: 05:30 PM – 08:00 PM
