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. Format: 30 minutes per company - 8 minute presentations followed by 22 minutes of panel feedback. Entrepreneurial companies considering a fund raise down the road are encouraged to attend as observers.

Awards: Top Performer - Gratis attendance at the National Business Investment Forum in New York on October 30 for the purpose of meeting investors and distributing company materials, valued at $3500. The audience will include Private Equity Groups, Family Offices, and Venture Capital Groups. In addition, the second place company will receive a gratis legal consultation with a senior lawyer of Sheppard Mullin valued at $1000.

Judith Feder is President of Harvest Capital Partners, an advisory firm focused on fundraising for early stage ventures and executing private share transactions for pre-IPO companies. Formerly, she was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Development Officer of Lebenthal Wealth Advisors. She has served on the New York Board of the National Association for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and on the Board of the angel group Tri-State Ventures.

Michael Beck is an independent angel investor. He serves also as Principal of EX Consulting LLC, an advisory group that performs scalability and stability assessments of entrepreneurial companies, and provides fundraising support. In addition, Michael is the Founder of Medox Technologies Inc., whose platform allows healthcare patients to authorize or restrict access to electronic health information maintained by data custodians.   

Andrea Cataneo is a Partner at the law firm 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 equity crowdfunding. She also advises publicly-held companies with reporting obligations to the Securities & Exchange Commission, which include 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.