Home – Startup Fest

Join us at Startup Fest for

November 12, 2020 @ Behrakis Grand Hall

Startup Fest is back in a BIG way! Top executives in the food industry come together to share their insights on their innovations. Join us to win cash prizes, try new (free) foods and network with innovative food industry professionals.

ABOUT STARTUP FEST

Startup Fest is an annual event hosted by Drexel University’s Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship to come together, share ideas, and compete with one another in all aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship. Although this year’s event will focus on food innovation, Startup Fest will feature our annual Baiada Incubator Competition, a student, staff and alumni pitch competitions and an Entrepreneurship Expo. Startup Fest is Philadelphia’s premier entrepreneurship event for which attendees can earn cash, prizes and innovative knowledge to take back to any venture or studies.

SCHEDULE

Entrepreneur Expo

The Entrepreneur Expo is a great opportunity get an inside look into your favorite companies.

Looking for an internship? Maybe some food samples? The Entrepreneur Expo will feature dozens of booths/tables representing some of Philadelphia’s great companies.

EXPO

Fast Pitch Competition

Use this opportunity to validate your idea by pitching it to a panel of judges on the main stage. Prizes of $500 will be awarded to the best ideas!

Incubator Competition

The Baiada Institute Incubator Competition is designed to help student entrepreneurs and their teams develop their business ideas, receive feedback and mentoring and compete for cash prizes. It also provides opportunities for networking, brainstorming and development of future entrepreneurial opportunities.

Support student entrepreneurs and watch them in action!

WOMEN IN FOOD

Meet the panelists

Rosemary Trout is Program Director and Assistant Clinical Professor of Culinary Arts & Food Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned her doctorate in health sciences at Drexel University.

Thu Pham is one of the owners and the CEO of Càphê Roasters, the first and only Vietnamese speciality small-batch coffee roastery in Philadelphia, offering coffee primarily sourced from Vietnam as well as other Southeast and East Asian regions

Mac Mart began in 2013. Owner Marti Lieberman, a graduate of Drexel University, was struggling to find a position locally in fashion public relations. She decided instead to debut a food truck on Drexel's campus to sell all things Mac'n cheese made with her famous 7 cheese sauce , which she often made for friends and family to enjoy.

“Brave! Nicole Marquis is so brave. Visionary, too”, that’s how the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Karen Heller described the creator of HipCityVeg, the trend-setting plant-based fast casual restaurant chain.

Snackadabra’s millennial innovator and Chief Cookie Officer, Michelle Silberman has always been a lover of two things – her family and incredible food. Coming from a first-generation American household, Michelle’s passion for cooking is pure tradition; it's part of her soul.

Experienced entrepreneur with a demonstrated history in building startups. Started my own business in the food industry in 2014 and highly skilled in product development and recipe testing. Currently run Hidden Gems Beverage company - where we make a delicious antioxidant rich beverage from avocado seeds!

Meet the keynote speakers

Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, is Professor in the Department of Food and Hospitality Management in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University.

Stephen Zagor is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at both Columbia Business School and New York University School of Nutrition and Food Studies specializing in Food business and Entrepreneurship.

Head of Operations for Food Labs, Menachem Katz has 20 years of food industry experience in roles ranging from operations to technology and logistics to culinary direction.

Tessa Price leads programming for WeWork Food Labs, which is both a workspace and an accelerator for early stage food entrepreneurs.

ABOUT THE CHARLES D. CLOSE SCHOOL

In today’s extremely competitive global workforce, there is an increased value and demand for initiative, independence, innovation, and the intellectual dexterity to rethink old ways of doing things and invent new ones. The Charles D. Close School has pioneered an approach to entrepreneurship education that addresses this need by teaching students to be entrepreneurial thinkers and doers, preparing them to meet the world market on solid footing and to create their own opportunities.