Demo Day Success
Demo Day was a sight to behold! We kicked off the event with alum guest speaker Anshuman Vohra '00, founder and CEO of BULLDOG Gin and HALO Hydration. His candid conversation about the resilience it took to overcome parental expectations, societal norms, economic recessions, industry constraints, and global pandemics emphasized how truly essential it is for entrepreneurs to have a mindset steeped in grit. His relentless positivity and passion for turning an idea into something more transformed him from a banker on Wall Street, to a worldwide liquor brand founder, and now a sports beverage industry mogul.
Following Anshuman was Rocket Pitch Faceoff, where our four finalists competed to win $1500 in cash prizes. Here’s who pitched:
- Kimberly Hill '24 with Sunrise Hill, LLC, a personalized sewing and embroidery venture.
- Myles Marino '23 with SourceNow, a procurement venture aimed at saving COOs time and money by managing vendors and negotiating on their behalf.
- Leland Remias '24 with VroomBrick, a real estate website that facilitates buying and selling transactions for those who wish to work independent from real estate agents.
- George Anderson '23 with PublicEye, a sentiment analysis-enhanced search engine venture.
Our first place Rocket Pitch Faceoff winner was Leland Remias '24 with VroomBrick! During his pitch, Leland explained how, in the two weeks since his finale qualifying Rocket Pitch win, his client list grew by the dozens. On top of that, he was also accepted into the 757 Accelerate program in the Norfolk startup ecosystem at Assembly. Add the $750 prize money from Rocket Pitch Faceoff and it’s easy to see how engaging with the Miller EC can help you make progress on the things you care about and really launch a founder and their idea towards success.
