Seattle's first-ever venture conference devoted to Consumer and CPG

This Launchpad Expo event is a reflection of the sea change that has occurred in this sector, in the Pacific Northwest region. An estimated 20% of angel investments have gone into Consumer and CPG companies in the past year, marking the first time that this sector has been placed "on the map" for locally-based investors. While Seattle is still dominated by tech, aerospace, and life sciences, Consumer has come into its own.

Greta Remington, a veteran of the consumer industry with over 30 years of innovation experience (Bay Area-based), is the conference chair and will moderate the panel on Strategies for Investing in Innovative Consumer Sector Startups. Panelists include Bob Wallach, head of the Alliance of Angels' CPG selection committee (Seattle-based), industry veteran and investor Gary Laney (Boise-based), and industry veteran Sunitra Shastri (Seattle-based).

After the panel, the five top-ranking startups will have the opportunity to present on-stage for 28 minutes. Their 12 minute pitches will be followed by 8 minutes of Q&A with the industry expert panel, and 8 minutes of Q&A with the LPs in the audience. 

The next five top-ranking startups will have the opportunity to pitch for three minutes, and invite investors to come learn more about their companies at their demo tables during the afterparty.

The event is followed up with a networking mixer at which dinner and beverages will be served, and investors can mingle with each other and visit with the ten demonstrating companies at their tables. Note that the afterparty often lasts several hours.

Co-chairs:

Greta Remington, 32-year industry veteran

Ron Wiener, 39-year startup veteran and CEO of Venture Mechanics

Panelists:

Bob Wallach Board Member and head of CPG Selection Committee of the Alliance of Angels

Gary Laney, CPG industry veteran and investor

Sunita Shastri, CPG industry veteran, CPG startup founder and CPG mentor to startups

Event Day Schedule

• 1:30 Registration
• 2:00 Welcome to Venture Mechanics, and introducing conference chair Greta Remington
• 2:15 Panel discussion on How to Evaluate Consumer/CPG Startups for Investment
• 3:00 First Round Company Presentations
  • 3:00 Altitude (Thomas Angel, CEO) - Beverage
  • 3:30 QLTY (Andrew Estey, Founder) - Shoes
  • 4:00 Break
  • 4:15 CoreNectar (Gabriel Claycamp and Madeline Henshaw) - Food/Beverage 
  • 4:45 iGuardfire (Ken Deering) - Household Electronics
  • 5:15 MADD Kitchen (Gerome Sweeney) - QSR
• 5:45 Judges deliberation during break
• 6:00 Prizes awarded, sponsored by Foerstel Design
• 6:10 2nd Round Company Presentations
  • 6:10 VKTORI (Keona Moy, Founder) - Apparel
  • 6:15 RINGA (Stephanie McGregor, Founder) - Supplements
  • 6:20 Steeped (Josh Wilbur, CEO) - Coffee
  • 6:25 Joyroot (Steve Howard, CEO) - Tea/Juice Blend 
  • 6:30 Umanos (Alisha Stephens, CEO) - Sustainable Personal Care
• 6:35 Closing remarks and upcoming event announcement
• 6:45 Investor/founder mixer afterparty sponsored by Mixtails.
  Light dinner served while investors can spend the evening visiting with founders at their demo tables