Startup Grind Charlotte and SierraMaya 360 to Host $250K Pitch Contest & Fireside Chat with AJ Ratani, President of Red Ventures Tech

Charlotte's Largest Startup Grind and Pitch Event

CHARLOTTE, NC, November 13, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Startup Grind Charlotte, part of the Google for Entrepreneurs-backed global startup community, and award-winning venture capital firm SierraMaya360 have partnered for a meet-up and pitch contest event with a possible $250,000 investment on the line for technology entrepreneurs and big thinkers. The event will take place on Wednesday, December 16th, 2015 at Charlotte-based tech and marketing company, Red Ventures.

The event will kick-off with Jeff Brokaw, Startup Grind Charlotte Director, leading a fireside chat Q&A with AJ Ratani, President of Red Ventures Tech, where they'll dive into AJ's non-traditional path to senior leadership, his vision for creating an inclusive environment in technology and forward-looking trends his team is following.

"Few people realize the extent to which proprietary, built in-house technology drives Red Ventures' success," said Jeff Brokaw, Startup Grind Charlotte Director. "It's the secret sauce that connects all of the company's marketing and sales efforts, and gives them actionable insights about consumer behavior. I'm excited for the Startup Grind community to learn more about what Red Ventures is doing in the world of technology."

Following the fireside chat, Startup Grind Charlotte will offer a handful of entrepreneurs a seat at the table to pitch for an investment of up to $250,000 from early stage VC firm, SierraMaya360, which specializes in bridging the gap between Hollywood, sports, technology and beyond.

The panel of pitch contest judges will include:

- AJ Ratani, President, RV Tech,
- Jeff Brokaw, Director, Startup Grind Charlotte
- Amish Shah, Founding Partner, SierraMaya360
- John Sutton, President, RV Disrupt
- Louis Foreman, Founder, Edison Nation
- Vasu Kulkarni, Managing Partner, Courtside Ventures NYC

"This event builds on the success of our inaugural pitch contest back in February that identified Charlotte-based, BrewPublik, which continues to grow exponentially and is currently expanding to other major cities across the US," said Amish Shah, Managing Partner of SierraMaya360. "As the only national venture capital firm in Charlotte, we're uniquely positioned to provide access to capital, a vast network and experience - and we hope to continue to serve as a catalyst for startup growth in the community."

Each company / participant will pitch for three minutes using any props or gadgets necessary and then answer seven minutes of Q&A from the panel. A winner will be selected and announced at the end of the evening. In addition to up to $250,000 in funding, the winner will receive advisory services from Red Ventures, as well as founders and entrepreneurs from the SierraMaya360 network.

Interested entrepreneurs should submit their pitch and contact information to pitch.sierramaya360.vc. The deadline for entries Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 at 8:00 PM EST. Pitch contest participants will be notified on 12/10.

To RSVP and purchase tickets, visit redventures.sierramaya360.vc.

About SierraMaya360

SierraMaya360 is an early stage Venture Capital firm recently won the top Best Tech, Media & Entertainment VC in the USA and top VC Capital Firm NC. They focus on bridging sports, Hollywood, technology and beyond. They are early investors in companies such as Lyft, MatterMark, SkyCatch, WeFunder, LiquidSpace and Charlotte's BrewPublik. Learn more at www.sierramaya360.vc

About Red Ventures

Founded in 2000, Red Ventures employs more than 2,800 people and is the country's largest technology-enabled platform for growing sales by optimizing multi-platform customer experiences. Red Ventures' expertise spans across multiple industries including Home Services, Energy, Financial Services, Insurance and Software. Success is driven by advanced internet analytics, proprietary technology and the company's greatest competitive advantage - the people. Red Ventures has been named a Best Place to Work in Charlotte, NC eight years running. Learn more at www.redventures.com.

About BrewPublik
BrewPublik is a customized subscription craft-beer service that uses an online "beergorithm" that helps subscribers curate their craft beer tastes and preferences, and then delivers a selection of brews to their doorstep each month. Founders Charlie Mulligan and Zach Jamison have created a database of nearly 1000 craft beers for customers to choose from. They are currently available in the Charlotte and Raleigh markets and are growing at 20% month over month since launching in December 2014. Learn more at www.BrewPublik.com.

Contact

Jeff Brokaw, Director
Startup Grind Charlotte
jeff@startupgrind.com
704-609-6720

Katie Zach, Director of Public Relations
Red Ventures
kzach@redventures.com
980-318-5549



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