The Pitch

Where real startup founders pitch to real investors—for real money.

Forget everything you think you know about the world of venture capital. Host Josh Muccio takes listeners behind closed-doors and into the room where deals are made.

Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Entrepreneurship
Technology
Investing
76
#64 Startup Sale! 80% Off
Ramya Possett and Rachel Lee founded BlueFoot to make tracking the competition easy for massive companies. And they think that what they’ve created is so powerful, it demands a premium price tag. One that takes the investors completely by surprise.
33 min
77
FightCamp: A Name Change, A Game Change
When Khalil Zahar and Tommy Duquette first pitched their boxing workout startup, Hykso, the investors saw a big opportunity. They wanted to know: Could Hykso be more like Peloton, an at-home cycling system that was starting to take off? Three years later, the company is trying to do just that — and it’s been a wild ride.
45 min
78
#63 Can A Startup Solve Homelessness?
Jonathan Kumar pitches his startup, Samaritan, which aims to help people who’ve lost their homes. But can he convince the investors it’s OK to earn a profit off of homelessness?
30 min
79
#62 Pivot or Die
Ben Walters came on the show to sell the investors on Feedback, an app that lets restaurants change their prices on the fly. But when Ben shows up in the pitch room, he’s already decided that it’s time to make some changes to the business. Can he get the investors salivating over a startup that’s mid-pivot?
35 min
80
From Startup Novice to Veteran
After a stellar pitch on our show back in 2017 — one that got $100K in the first five minutes — founder Mike Slagh hit the ground running with his startup, Shift. In this episode, we catch up with him to find out if Shift, a job-placement service for military vets, has continued to dazzle investors.
32 min
81
#61 Can a Zebra Survive in a Unicorn World?
Jennifer Brandel of Hearken is pitching a new kind of business. She calls it a zebra: a company that’s driven by a mission — but still wants to make money. And Jennifer’s mission with Hearken is to help journalists do their jobs better. But can she and the investors get on the same page?
35 min
82
#60 Is This the Amazon Prime of Airline Tickets?
Rama Poola is here pitching his airline ticket business, SkyHi, where customers pay a monthly fee to access tickets on the cheap. But the investors are worried that it sounds a lot like MoviePass, a company that offered a subscription for unlimited movie tickets — and ran into a world of problems. Can Rama convince them that his model won’t break the bank?
29 min
83
#59 Disrupting Work Happy Hour
Ryan Husk wants to take your workplace culture up a notch. His startup, Culture Force, matches companies to “experiences” designed to improve community at work. He says it can be a huge business, but the investors want to know why it’s more than just a cool way to plan work parties.
29 min
84
#58 Park Your Pooch Here
Chelsea Brownridge wants to help dog owners keep their pooches safe when they’re out running errands together. Her startup, DogSpot, makes internet-connected dog houses, with features like webcams and A/C, and puts them in front of retail stores that don’t allow pets. Can Chelsea convince our investors that her dog houses are a must-have?
33 min
85
#57 Where Losers Go To Win
After losing his shirt on sports betting sites DraftKings and FanDuel, Adam Weinstein decided to flip the script on daily fantasy sports and give everyone a better shot at winning. He’s changing things up using prop bets instead of traditional fantasy teams. But the question remains: Is this a gamble investors are willing to take?
28 min
86
‘It Was a Disaster’
After a failed pitch on our show back in 2017, Industrial Organic founder Amanda Weeks was ready for redemption. And she found it, to the tune of $4.2 million. Now she’s back — with a lot to say about how much she and her business have grown.
37 min
87
#56 Shark Tank vs. The Pitch
Zahra Kassam has been on the road in a major way, pitching her startup, Monti Kids. A few months before our show, she pitched on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Today we find out: Did she win over any investors in her two very public pitches? And how do our investors compare to pitching the sharks?
41 min
88
#55 A New Spin on VR
Tom Impallomeni is here to pitch Tribe XR, a VR app that teaches people to DJ. He’s got a vision for using virtual reality to teach creative skills — but the investors are skeptical. Can Tom convince them he’s putting the right spin on VR?
36 min
89
#54 Is Selling in Walmart a Good Thing?
Debbie Wei Mullin is pitching her pour-over Vietnamese coffee startup, Copper Cow Coffee. The company is already doing well on Walmart’s shelves. But does she have what it takes to take the brand online?
34 min
90
Is the ICO Gold Rush Over?
After a frustrating round of fundraising for her company PopCom, Dawn Dickson decided that VC was broken. She opted to take a different route: an initial coin offering, or ICO. But then her best-laid plans got all mucked up ... by Uncle Sam.
33 min
91
#53 Investors Get Feisty at Our Philly Pitch-off
This week, The Pitch is live from The Wharton School at the University of Philadelphia. Three of Philly’s most promising young startups take the stage in front of Phil Nadel, Jillian Manus and a packed house for a live pitch competition.
37 min
92
After the Pitch: Sudden Coffee
Back in 2016, Sudden Coffee founders Joshua Zloof and Kalle Freese tried to sell the investors on their premium instant coffee. Two years later, we checked back in with Joshua and found that Sudden Coffee is still working out some kinks in the business: trying to find the right customers and nailing the flavor.
35 min
93
#52 Fitbit … for Dogs
Susan Sierota wants to help dog owners keep their furry friends healthy with her pet-tech startup, Waggit. Can she convince the four investors that her smart collar will win best in show?
26 min
94
#51 This Bot Can Fight Your ATM Fees
Founder Paul Kesserwani says we’re all losing way too much money to fees — credit card fees, bank fees, ATM fees. Can he convince investors that there’s major money to be made in the fee-fighting business?
31 min
95
#50 Ticket Scalpers, Beware! Blockchain Is Comi...
Why should you care about blockchain if you’re not a huge cryptocurrency nerd? Bandwagon founder Harold Hughes says it can help you score better seats to see your favorite team. Can he convince investors his startup isn’t just a part of the blockchain bubble?
30 min
96
#49 Nuts Can Kill. Are Seeds the Answer?
Blake Sorensen has a deathly nut allergy — one that's led to some harrowing trips to the ER. So he started a company, Blake’s Seed Based, to make snacks safe for people like him. Will the investors get on board with his mission?
31 min
97
#48 Will This Space Startup Make It off the Gro...
Vanessa Clark and William Kowalski want to build a nuclear-powered spacecraft for moving satellites around in orbit. Will their sci-fi ambitions be too much for investors to stomach?
31 min
98
#47 Can This Tiny Gadget Keep Kids in College?
The college dropout rate is high, and schools are paying the price... to the tune of billions of dollars every year. Marquett Burton says his education startup can help solve the problem. Will the investors agree?
28 min
99
#46 Never Get Lost Again
Somewear founder James Kubik thinks going off the grid shouldn’t have to mean going out of cell phone range. That’s why he created a device that turns smartphones into satellite communication hubs. Can he convince investors to join him on the trail?
26 min
100
#45 Whatever Happened to Virtual Reality?
It can be tough to get investors excited about VR, which has attracted tons of hype—without much payoff. Can entrepreneur Sophia Dominguez convince investors that VR’s time has finally come?
34 min