TechCrunch Live is going to Columbus, OH — register and apply for the pitch-off!

TechCrunch Live is thrilled to announce a special event centered around Columbus, Ohio. On June 1, 2022, our crew is hosting an extended TechCrunch Live episode with Columbus investors, founders and business leaders. There’s even a pitch-off and we’re looking for Columbus-area startups to apply and pitch. Register for the virtual event here, and apply […]

May 4, 2022 - 22:14 Updated: May 9, 2022 - 20:15
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TechCrunch Live is going to Columbus, OH — register and apply for the pitch-off!

TechCrunch Live is thrilled to announce a special event centered around Columbus, Ohio. On June 1, 2022, our crew is hosting an extended TechCrunch Live episode with Columbus investors, founders and business leaders. There’s even a pitch-off and we’re looking for Columbus-area startups to apply and pitch.

Register for the virtual event here, and apply for the pitch-off here.

Why Columbus? Because it’s quickly becoming a major startup scene in the Midwest, especially in the areas of healthcare and insurance. Over $3 billion has been injected into the city over the past 20 years, according to Crunchbase data. Investment into the city startups started picking up around 2017 and really peaked in 2021. That’s when investment essentially doubled, going from $583 million in 2020 to just over $1 billion, with half of those dollars going into two companies: healthcare technology company Olive and autonomous robotics company Path Robotics. So far in 2022, $110 million have gone into Columbus startups.

Olive is now valued at over $4 billion and is among other Columbus success stories like CoverMyMeds, a healthcare software company that was acquired by the McKesson Corp. in 2017 for $1.4 billion, which represents Central Ohio’s first $1 billion exit. Root Insurance, which raised over $800 million since 2015, went public in 2020. Other notable raises include Forge Biologics’ $120 million Series B round, which was thought to be Ohio’s largest Series B to date. Forge plans to add 200 new jobs by 2023.

We hope you can attend this event! Like every TechCrunch Live event, it’s free to participate and attend. And like every TechCrunch Live event, it kicks off at 3:00pm EDT/12:00pm PDT, and this one happens on June 1, 2022.

Apply for the pitch-off! To qualify you need to:

    • Be based in the greater Columbus Ohio area
    • Have an MVP
    • Be pre-Series A

TechCrunch Live in Columbus!

Columbus Unicorns with Olive and Drive Capital (3:00pm EDT)
Olive is a homegrown Columbus unicorn, and hear from the CEO and lead investor how the company was built and raised $856 million since its founding in 2012.

Raising startup capital  (3:30pm EDT)

Ohio isn’t Silicon Valley, and yet there are numerous venture capital funds eager to write checks to early stage founders. Join this session and hear from two investors on what industries are thriving in Columbus, and what sort of founders fit best in this scene.

Work for a startup in Columbus (4:00pm EDT)

Columbus, like many major American cities, are home to industry giants with hundreds of workers toiling away in cubicles. But startups are hiring! Hear from two local leaders on who’s hiring, and what startups look for in new employees.

Pitch Competition (4:20pm EDT)

Apply here!

Judges

  • Anna Mason, Managing Partner, Rise of the Rest Seed Fund at Revolution
  • Alda Leu Dennis, General Partner, Initialized Capital

Found Live with Claire Coder, CEO of Aunt Flow (5:00pm EDT)

Aunt Flow is an innovative startup from Columbus, Ohio that supplies 23,000 bathrooms with essential feminine products. The company’s clients include Apple, Meta, and more. Hear from the company’s CEO Claire Coder about the pains of raising capital in Ohio, and scaling her company to 40 employees during this special Found Live podcast recording.

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