Category: Business Catapult
Become our Star Entrepreneur of 2025 - Apply to the P&G Alumni Global Business Catapult!
Published November 14, 2024 by pgalums in
Dear P&G Alum,
We are delighted to announce the 4th Global Business Catapult launch for P&G Alums.
This initiative is a virtual accelerator for P&G Alumni-led startups and scale-ups offering a product or service with a proven business model already generating sales. The purpose of this initiative is to accelerate the enterprises of P&G Alum founders by connecting them to potential advisors and investors while elevating their global visibility.
Selected finalists will present at a Global Virtual Pitch with top global leaders from VC Funds and Global Accelerators (during Feb-Mar 2025). Don’t miss this opportunity to have global reach.
There will be 3 winners who will get free accelerator-like support from a diverse P&G Alumni team of investors and seasoned start-up leaders; and will also present their businesses to the global audience at the P&G Alumni Global Conference on June 12-14, 2025, in Berlin. The overall winner will be recognized as the P&G Alumni Star Entrepreneur of 2025.
You could be the one! Apply before January 31st, 2025.
If you have any doubt, please write us to catapult@pgalums.com. Apply before January 31st, 2025!
Kind regards,
The Global Business Catapult team
Become our Star Entrepreneur of 2025 and apply to the P&G Alumni Global Business Catapult!
Published October 28, 2024 by pgalums in
This initiative is a virtual accelerator for P&G Alumni-led startups and scale-ups that offer a product or service with a proven business model that is already generating sales. We believe in the power of connection and the purpose of this initiative is to accelerate the enterprises of P&G Alumni founders by connecting them to potential advisors and investors, while elevating their global visibility.
Selected finalists will present at a Global Virtual Pitch with top global leaders from VC Funds and Global Accelerators (during February 2025). Don’t miss this opportunity to have global reach.
There will be three winners who will get free accelerator-like support for a year from a diverse P&G Alumni team of investors and seasoned start-up leaders. This includes mentoring, as well as investor and business development connections. Winners will also present their businesses to the global audience at the P&G Alumni Global Conference on June 12-14, 2025 in Berlin, one of the capitals of innovation and business growth. The overall winner will be recognized as the P&G Alumni Star Entrepreneur of 2025. You could be the one! Apply before January 31st, 2025.
What’s next?
If you are a founder and want to submit your company to be considered as a candidate for the P&G Alumni Star Entrepreneur of 2025, please apply here.
Don’t miss this opportunity. Apply before January 31st, 2025. Previous participant verbatims include:
“We built our confidence through the Catapult process developing our courage to pitch to a global audience and going after international investors. Because of the Catapult, we were able to open our horizons”
“We got some momentum with advisors and investors right after the event but what was more important is that we presented our vision to the global alumni audience and to do so we strengthened the strategic positioning of our business.”
If you have any doubt, please write to us at businesscatapult@pgalums.com.
Business Catapult: Entrepreneur Empowerment
Published October 15, 2024 by Elsie Gallegos in
A powerful network of insightful Investors and inspiring Entrepreneurs.”
“The Catapult program strives to benefit three key stakeholder groups :
– P&G Alumni Network-led startups.
– Investors.
– Industry and operational experts.
The program leverages complementarities between these three groups to maximize the net value that is collectively generated.”
Business Catapult Recorded Webinar: The Art of the Pitch
Published June 6, 2024 by Elsie Gallegos in
The Art of the Pitch: Mastering Persuasive Pitch Decks
Unlock the Secrets to Winning Over Investors
About the Class:
In the fast-paced world of startups, a compelling pitch can make all the difference. Join our “Art of the Pitch” class to learn the essential skills for creating persuasive pitch decks that captivate investors. Whether you’re seeking venture capital or angel funding, this course will empower you to craft a winning presentation.
What You’ll Learn:
- Pitch Deck Essentials: Understand the key components of an effective pitch deck.
- Storytelling Techniques: Learn how to weave a compelling narrative that resonates with investors.
- Visual Design: Discover best practices for creating eye-catching slides.
- Financial Projections: Master the art of presenting financial data confidently.
- Q&A Preparation: Anticipate and address investor questions.
About the Presenter:
Marvin Abrinica is an 18 year P&G veteran who worked on several brands in health care as a marketer and learning designer. He now runs a company, Wunderfund, an equity crowdfunding company that’s helped dozens of companies raise capital. He’s seen hundreds of decks and is ready to share the most common aspects of the perfect pitch.
Enrichment Series Webinar: Andre Stolz Entrepreneurial Journey: A Fireside Chat
Published by Elsie Gallegos in
Join us for a webinar with Andre Stolz, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Budding Innovation Pte. Ltd. With over two decades of global experience in fostering innovation and steering ventures from conception to commercial success, Andre is passionate about empowering businesses to thrive in a rapidly evolving market landscape. Having collaborated with diverse teams across Singapore, China, Germany, and beyond, his journey has been enriched with continuous learning, impactful engagements, and the gratification of seeing ideas transform into value-driven solutions.
Published May 22, 2024 by Elsie Gallegos in
2023 CATAPULT STAR ENTREPRENEUR FINALISTS
Published October 2, 2023 by pgalums in
It is time to rally around for the top ten Catapult Entrepreneur of the Year submissions for 2023!
More than fifty company founders and their teams submitted their global companies to this year’s competition. All fifty+ companies were subject to a detailed and rigorous evaluation.
Of the top ten finalists, there was good representation across geographies, with four North American, two European, two Latin American, one Asian, and one Middle Eastern company on the shortlist.
Read on to find out which companies came out at the top of the rankings:
North America
- Instar Brands (www.instarbrands.com) – Brand management and support platform for fast-moving consumer brands that wish to launch and scale up in the US market.
- People OneHealth (https://peopleonehealth.com/) – Health system that combines healthcare services and a monthly membership business model.
- Phenix Software (https://phenixps.com/) – Planning and scheduling software for process manufacturers.
- Purepost (www.purepost.co) – Solution that provides a fast & accurate way to connect skilled, qualified candidates to career opportunities.
Europe
- AccuPredict Services (https://accupredict.io/) – Smart sensors for heavy-machinery failure prediction’.
- Diplomat / Rooster (https://www.diplomat-global.com) – AI based SaaS platform enabling “continuous replenishment” logistics management for retail.
Latin America
- CNCC (www.cafamilia.com) – Industrial grade infrastructure for the treatment of textile waste management.
- Trendsights (https://www.trendsights.ai) – Marketing intelligence platform that integrates influencers, online channels and competitor monitoring to generate actionable content.
Asia
- EchoWorth Tech (https://www.ecoworth-tech.com/) – Wastewater management solution.
Middle East
- Bright Concept (www.yoloshops.com) – A global teen accessory brand with a social mission.
Recognition of these companies and selection of the winner will take place at the P&G Alums Global Conference on November 2-5th in Washington D.C. So be there to cheer them on!
ANGELS AT THE STARTING BLOCK
Published September 19, 2023 by pgalums in
If you have been following the latest developments in the PGAN Catalyst Program, then you are aware of the program’s mission to identify high-potential, alumni-led startups and to connect them to alum investors and advisors who are able to contribute to the startup’s success.
You may also know that this spring PGAN launched a global “call for startups” interested in participating in the “2023 Entrepreneur Stars” program. More than fifty promising startups around the world responded to the call and are now in the Catapult pipeline. So far, so good
But you may be wondering, “How will this work?” Well, the key lies in bringing together the essential players in this virtuous cycle of value creation: the startups, the investors, and the advisors.
In this article, we will focus on the role and motivations for PGAN ‘angel ‘investor participation in this new program.
In the past, angel investors were typically high-net-worth individuals who provided initial seed money to early-stage startups in exchange for equity and the expectation of future capital appreciation. However, with the advent of the SEC’s crowdfunding regulations and the availability of online investment platforms, it is now possible for anyone to invest in unlisted companies that align with their investment goals. And the investment may be as little as $100.
Although ‘angel’ investing is higher risk than investing in stocks and bonds, and angel investors must carefully evaluate potential investments, there are many benefits to ‘angel’ investing.
Let’s look at some of the rewards of ‘angel’ investing :
- Getting in on the ground floor of a potentially high-growth company.
- Diversifying an investment portfolio by including a higher-risk, higher-potential asset class.
- Supporting startups that have a product/service that aligns with investor’s values and beliefs.
- The personal satisfaction that comes from helping to grow a small business.
For me, ‘angel’ investing is an opportunity to learn about new technologies and business models that may radically change our future. And what could be more exciting than that?
Over the next 2-3 months, the PGAN Catapult program, in collaboration with our investment platform provider, will launch several online capital-raise campaigns for the startups that participated in the ‘2023 Entrepreneur Stars’ program. Interested PGAN ‘angel’ investors will have the opportunity to discover, evaluate, and easily invest in PGAN-led startups via our investment partner’s online platform.
If you are interested in investing in Catapult Program startups, or just interested in what opportunities are available, then please follow this link and answer a few brief questions.
‘Angel investors’, get ready, get set, and let’s go!
As Innovative as Our Network: The New Catapult Program
Published September 5, 2023 by pgalums in
The new Catapult program strives to benefit three key stakeholder groups: PGAN-led startups, PGAN-investors, and PGAN-experts. The program leverages complementarities between these three groups to maximize the net value that is collectively generated.
In today’s article, we will focus on the value created for PGAN-led startups.
Procter & Gamble is renowned for hiring high-caliber talent. So, it is not surprising that a subset of P&G alumni go on to create exciting new startups.
However, building a winning startup is hard and more than half of startups fail. What are the primary causes of these failures? Two recurring reasons are access to funding and the lack of industry and/or operational experience. The new Catapult program aims to address both challenges.
Through the new program, an annual cohort of twenty-five alumni-led startups will be selected for participation in pre-funding clinics geared towards mastering the prerequisites for fundraising success. At the end of the clinic, each startup will have an in-depth understanding of what is required to attract and engage potential investors.
Moreover, the top three startups in the yearly cohort will receive additional hands-on support with pitch deck preparation, business plan assessment, financial modeling, risk evaluation, and other topics that potential investors focus on. At the end of the process, the startups will launch their first fundraising campaign.
However, successfully raising capital is by no means the end of the startup’s journey. In our next two articles, we will reveal how the PGAN experts and PGAN investors fit into this shared value-creation journey.
Stay tuned.
Some exciting upgrades to the Catapult Program!
Published May 30, 2023 by pgalums in
Would you have invested in a Zoom at $3 per share?
Perhaps, if you’d had a crystal ball to see the future and, more importantly, a mechanism to execute the investment.
For more than 80 years, investing in exciting early-stage companies was available only to accredited investors, the wealthiest 2% of Americans. This changed when Reg CF went into effect, enabling the general public to crowdfund promising innovators. This capability is now available to our network via a partnership developed by the Catapult team.
Since 2019, P&G Alumni’s Catapult team has been focused on identifying high-potential, alumni-led startups around the globe and connecting them to alum investors and advisors able to contribute to the startup’s success.
As of mid-2023, the Catapult program will be extended with a new online platform to streamline the investment process for both the startups and the investors and will provide opportunities for P&G alums to offer mentoring and industry expertise to the companies. This capability is being brought to the network through a partnership with a leading global private equity investment platform provider.
Investing in startups is risky, no doubt about it. But imagine that you’d invested $100 at $3/share in Zoom pre-IPO. What would that investment be worth today? The answer is $2,170. That is an annualized total return of 47%. Quite a bit higher than the S&Ps 9% average rate of return.
Stay tuned for details on this new program in upcoming newsletters.
About the P&G Business Catapult Program:
Business Catapult is the P&G Alumni Network’s virtual accelerator program for Alumni founders seeking investment, connections, and marketing for an existing venture.
By connecting P&G Alumni Entrepreneurs with P&G Alumni Investors and Advisors in order – we help your business to accelerate growth and make connections for potential funding.
This is an ongoing program providing mentorship and advisory to the top ventures. We guarantee at least one advisory session.
Selected semi-finalists present at an annual global pitch event – with finalists presenting at the P&G Alumni Global Conference, and the final winner recognized as the P&G Alumni Star Entrepreneur.