Launch413 to Host Western New England Demo Day on Nov. 12
SPRINGFIELD — Launch413 will host the first in a new triannual event series, Western New England Demo Day, at TechSpring in downtown Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The purpose of this event is to bring local startups and investors together to give entrepreneurs greater access to capital, and investors more options for local investment. WNE Demo Day aims to provide a friendly and organized environment for startups and investors to meet each other and find new paths to mutual prosperity.
In June 2019, Launch413 hosted a pilot Demo Day event at Valley Venture Mentors in downtown Springfield. The event was a success, drawing the interests of more than 30 local startups and five other investment groups, each of which has brought its support to the new WNE Demo Day event series (including River Valley Investors, Milltown Capitol, Alchemy Fund, Golden Seeds, and Maroon Fund).
“Demo Day is a big step forward for access to capital in the Western New England ecosystem,” said Paul Silva, Launch413 founder. “By facilitating easy ‘speed dating’ between investors and startups, the WNE Demo Day creates a low-risk, high-reward environment for both parties.”
Launch413 first conceived of Demo Day as a tool to further Launch413’s mission of providing guidance from veteran executives to local startups in need of a path to scalability. Demo Day would provide a way to get these startups the funding they need. After the Demo Day pilot event exceeded expectations, Launch413 learned of the need for a regular event like this from both startups and investors.
Launch413 is looking forward to seeing how the Western New England Demo Day can help local startups grow and local investors keep their capital in the Western New England economy for equal or greater returns.
