Watch the entrepreneurial funding process as it actually happens - not what you see on Shark Tank! The event will feature four startup firms honing their pitches to a panel of angel investors - the last step before they hit the big stage. We encourage entrepreneurial companies considering a fund raise down the road to attend as observers in order to become more familiar with the process. Format: 8 minute presentations, followed by 8 minutes of panel feedback. After panel comments, we allocate 4 minutes for audience perspectives and questions.

Thomas Wisniewski is a Board Member of New York Angels, and teaches entrepreneurship at General Assembly. He is an early-stage investor and advisor to startups, venture capital, and private equity companies. Tom also co-manages RosePaul Investments and its proprietary fund RosePaul Ventures, which focuses on seed stage technology startups. RosePaul Investments is a limited partner in other funds, including Greycroft Ventures. 

Emily Susskind is a Managing Director of Golden Seeds and a Co-Leader of its Enterprise Services and Technology (B2B) industry sector group. Golden Seeds primary task is to support entrepreneurial firms owned or managed by women. She is an active investor in early-stage tech companies, and has worked across several industries, including financial services, digital media, entertainment, electronics, and communications with global companies.

Andrea Cataneo is a Partner at Sheppard Mullin, who focuses on structuring private equity transactions for microcap companies, as well as taking companies public. Additionally, she offers her clients targeted sources of capital, including funding available under recent equity crowdfunding legislation. She also advises publicly-held companies with reporting obligations to the Securities & Exchange Commission, exchange listings, and compliance matters.

Bruce Crawford, Founder of the Entrepreneur Forum, will serve as moderator. Prior to founding the Forum in 2008, he was Co-Head of Ratings Advisory at Salomon Smith Barney, where his primary responsibility was preparing corporations for bond rating presentations to agencies. Previously, he was a Director in Corporate Finance at Standard & Poor's, responsible for firms in the automotive, chemical, energy, and pharmaceutical industries.