Startup Arena · Recap

Eight founders took the stage. Two earned the title.

An energetic night of on-stage pitches to five investor judges and a packed room in Santa Monica.

★ Best Pitch Deadline · PollenPal
8 Founders
pitched
5 Investors
ringside
2 Best Pitch
titles
Date
Jul 15, 2026
Where
Santa Monica, CA
Format
Live pitches · Fireside

Act I · The card

Eight companies. Three minutes each.

The card ran from carbon-negative hydrogen to engineered cat litter — no two pitches alike, and no safety net for any of them.

  • Aynur Sinem Alak of Ladiesse pitching mid-stride, mic in hand, purple stage lights and audience in the foreground
    01

    Ladiesse

    Aynur Sinem Alak

    Agentic fashion marketplace

  • Wilson Hago of Hago Energetics presenting with mic and phone in hand, lit by a stage softbox
    02

    Hago Energetics

    Wilson Hago

    Clean hydrogen & carbon-negative electricity

  • Nancy Tang of Numeris Ledger speaking into a mic beside her co-presenter, backlit by a stage softbox
    03

    Numeris Ledger

    Nancy Tang

    Accounting infrastructure for small business

  • Elvina Beck of Deadline pitching with mic and clicker under warm rim light, the Deadline logo projected behind her ★ Best Pitch
    04

    Deadline

    Elvina Beck

    Life’s short. Travel now.

  • Linran Yu of LA Preferred pitching in a green satin shirt, mic in hand, stage light glowing at left
    05

    LA Preferred

    Linran Yu

    Premium engineered tofu cat litter

  • Robert Schulte of PollenPal in profile pitching with a mic in front of a blue projected product collage ★ Best Pitch
    06

    PollenPal

    Robert Schulte

    Physical AI for beekeepers

  • Sheng Wang of Zoooom pitching with mic and clicker in front of a projected slide
    07

    Zoooom

    Sheng Wang

    Financial infrastructure for private-party auto transactions

  • Ryan Damm of Aina pitching in a black tee, mic in one hand and clicker raised in the other, his shadow cast on the projected slide
    08

    Aina

    Ryan Damm

    Capturing the real world for AI

  • The tape
    Pitches
    8
    Minutes on the clock
    24
    Scorecards
    5
    Best Pitch titles
    2

Act II · Ringside panel

Five investors grilled the contestants.

  1. Jim Armstrong Context Ventures
  2. Amy Harmon Innovent Capital
  3. Qiana Patterson Family Office Investor
  4. Jeffrey Chernick Angel Investor
  5. Keith Zittle Michael Best & Friedrich

Act III · Fireside chat

The Art of the Pitch.

Twenty-five years in venture, four Midas List appearances, $750M returned. Jeffrey Chernick sat Jim Armstrong down in front of the room and pulled apart what actually makes an investor lean in when a founder starts talking.

Special guest Jim Armstrong
  • 4x Midas List
  • 25 yrs VC
  • $750M returns
Interviewer Jeffrey Chernick

Exited founder · High Five Energy Collective

Jeffrey Chernick speaking into a mic on a stool while Jim Armstrong listens beside him, name graphics projected behind
Close shot of Jim Armstrong answering into a mic, projection light dappling his shirt, audience heads blurred in the foreground

Act IV · The decision

Best pitch goes to…

When the scores came in, two founders held the title.

Elvina Beck of Deadline speaking into a mic on stage in front of a projected screen showing her name ★ Best Pitch
Elvina Beck Deadline — Life’s short. Travel now. deadlinetravel.com
Robert Schulte of PollenPal in profile holding a mic on a dark stage, his face half-lit by projection light ★ Best Pitch
Robert Schulte PollenPal — Physical AI for beekeepers pollenpal.com

Post-show · The room

It didn't cool down.

Q&A ran from the floor, investors stayed past the last pitch, and the networking hour outlasted the projector.

Founders and investors lined up on stage for a group photo in front of the projected Startup Arena stadium backdrop reading Jul 15 · Santa Monica
Startup Arena · Santa Monica · Jul 15
Speaker holding a mic on stage in front of a projected screen, audience silhouetted in the foreground
Founder pitching at a mic stand beside a giant projected slide as a packed seated audience looks on under purple rig lights
Wilson Hago standing on stage under a single bright light as the seated audience applauds in the darkened venue
Jim Armstrong seated among the audience, speaking into a handheld mic during Q&A
Two attendees talking and smiling over drinks during the networking hour, the event projection glowing behind them
Attendees clustered in conversation around a cocktail table during the networking hour
Wide view of the darkened venue as a full crowd watches Jim Armstrong and Jeffrey Chernick on the lit stage beneath the projected fireside-chat screen

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The backers.

The night happened because these partners put their name on it. Thank you.

Presenting partners
  • Venture Best
  • VC Match

    Use code NERD at vcmatch.ai for a 50% discount on investor matches

Supporting partners

Your turn

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Startup Arena runs all year. The next date and the application link land on the events page first.

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