The entrepreneurs who pitched on Demo Day brought their best game.
“We are living in a generation where every company is expected to be either a tech company or tech-enabled,” said Param Jaggi, CEO of Hatch Apps, explaining to the crowd why they should invest in his company, which builds low-cost apps for its clients. “We’re on a mission to democratize software for the businesses that need it.”
Tanya Van Court, CEO of Goalsetter, described a pilot that Morgan Stanley had done with her company, which sets up bank accounts for children to teach them the value of saving money. The pilot and the support she has received from the firm have opened many doors, she said.
“Our partnership with Morgan Stanley is only the beginning for us,” Van Court said. “Now we’re in discussions with school districts, Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits. Our goal is to change the world for the next generation of kids and families.”
Lora Ivanova, CEO of myLAB Box, was similarly expansive. “What if taking care of your health were as easy as shopping online for your favorite pair of shoes?” she asked the audience, by way of introducing her company’s at-home testing kit for sexually transmitted infections.
“We are among the most comprehensive STD testing kits on the market,” she said. myLAB Box sees an opportunity to expand its offerings, “taking what we learned in the sexual health space and applying it over additional health testing verticals.”
After the company presentations, Thomas R. Nides, Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley, addressed the gathering and noted that he had been a mentor to some of the entrepreneurs. “These are fantastic ideas,” he said. “I could not be happier with the fact that these companies will walk around the world and say that Morgan Stanley is an investor.”
Last year, the first in the Lab program, 150 startups applied for five slots; this year, 300 applied for nine slots. The application process is now open through January 4th, for next year’s Lab cohort, which is expected to be even larger.
1. Kauffman Foundation, Larry Jacob (July 2018) “Three Trends That Prevent Entrepreneurs from Accessing Capital”
Source: morganstanley.com
