Season 13: The Human Side of Venture
About this episode
Spotify
Apple PodcastsA Johns Hopkins ER doctor, a Formula 1 engineer, and an artist walk into The Pitch Room... meet this season's extraordinary founders! We screened 2,000 companies, and 12 made the cut. But with negotiations turned up to 11, will they be ready to face off with the sharpest VCs in the game?
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The Panel
11 Tribes Ventures
“We look for unique founder-market fit, intense capital efficiency, and niche markets where there aren't a ton of people playing.”
Behind Genius Ventures
“I think about investing in founders on three axes. Are they a good storyteller? Do they have a strong mission? And the third is execution velocity — how quickly do they execute when they've figured out the right priority.”
KittyHawk
“We call ourselves generalist frontier technology. And so try to find very hard problems.”
Super Angel Fund
“I just want to invest in brands that really resonate with me. And I feel like I would be the best champion for. So sometimes I'll end up missing great financial investments for that reason. And I'm okay with that.”
“Necessity is the mother of all invention. You've invented this because you want to solve a problem that you had. That's exactly where great businesses all start.”
Mike: Sorry, my hair looks terrible, I usually wear a hat.
I’m Josh Muccio, host of The Pitch - where startup founders raise millions and listeners can invest. For lucky season 13, we looked at 2000 companies and selected 12 of the very best founders to pitch in Miami. They flew in from all over the country… and the world.
Michele: My name is Michele and I'm from Italy.
Julian: I'm originally from Medellin, Colombia.
Mike: I was born and raised in Maysville, Kentucky.
Therese: I'm from Baltimore, Maryland.
Anastasia: And I am from Finland.
Royi: Who am I? Good question
Al: I would consider myself as a hustler first and a tech founder second
Julian: I'm a growth monster. Like growth is my obsession.
Luisa: I am an artist at heart, but artist turned tech founder
Gabe: I am a gear head, engineer, used to design Formula 1 cars.
Whitman: competitive cyclist, and engineer aerospace engineer worked on rocket engines.
This season we’re diving even deeper into the human side of venture.
Therese: I've been a pediatric emergency physician for 10 years at Johns Hopkins. But that type of work, as powerful as it is, it doesn't scale.
Folio: This is my third startup. // This one feels very personal because my family was actually raised in public housing in Detroit.
Kelsey: I started this company // after graduating college with // $150,000 of student loan debt.
Royi: I was waking up in the morning and all I could think about was this and so I had to. I didn't have a choice
These founders were all in, ready to pitch to the sharpest early-stage VCs in the game.
Jesse: I don’t normally like edtech, but I really like you
Elizabeth: I echo those sentiments… I do want to push back, though
Jenny: Toughen up, lady! That’s healthcare!
Charles: I feel like I’m the lone dissenter
Kate: Ooh, Charles, spicy.
Charles: So I'm out.
Charles: I’m sure when they air this episode, they’ll be like, Charles is really dumb.
Kate: For those who can’t see, my jaw is currently on the floor
Everyone – the investors, founders, even me - turned up the negotiations to 11 this season.
Jesse: I would like to at least commit 50k
Michael: I absolutely hate to say this, we don't allow any investments under 100k.
Elizabeth: I'd be very interested in doing this deal, but definitely not in the valuation range you're talking about.
Josh: At what price would you be interested?
Elizabeth: I don't want to insult you, but I think it's like five.
Paige: Don't change your mind at this table because you're being asked to.
Elizabeth: I disagree with that. I think every founder should come in with multiple plans.
Charles: I disagree with that.
Josh: The Pitch Fund would like to invest in this round and this is probably a really good deal for our syndicate too so
Paige: Are you squeezing me out right now?
Mark: Yeah, he’s squeezing big time.
Josh: No!!!
Mark your calendars, lucky season 13 of The Pitch starts March 5th. Wednesdays are pitch days once again. Episodes are available to watch on YouTube and Patreon, OR listen on your favorite podcast player.
So subscribe to The Pitch right now, turn on notifications, and we’ll see you in the PITCH ROOM.
Luisa: I'm excited to be on the show.
The Founder
CEO, Founder; Pediatric Emergency Physician
Dr. Canares is a physician-entrepreneur and the CEO and Founder of CurieDx. With over a decade of experience as a pediatric emergency physician at Johns Hopkins University, she witnessed firsthand the challenges families face when emergency rooms are their only option for minor illnesses like coughs and colds due to lack of easy healthcare access. Driven by a mission to answer the question, "Why am I sick?" instantly, Dr. Canares founded CurieDx to transform home diagnostics. Building on her research at Johns Hopkins, the CurieDx team developed a mobile app that uses AI and smartphone imaging to predict conditions like strep throat. The $8.5 billion home diagnostics market remains largely untapped, with traditional solutions requiring specialized equipment and lab processing. CurieDx is positioned to capture this opportunity by delivering clinical screening results instantly through software alone, reducing costs and expanding access to care. CurieDx is revolutionizing home testing, empowering patients and providers with innovative tools to improve remote care and creating a future where instant medical testing is at everyone's fingertips.
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