Announcement – Celebrate Tech! Pitch Panelists Named

Top Startup and Venture Thought Leaders have been named as panelists for the upcoming pitch competition

UPDATE: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 – extraSlice Co-CEO/Co-Founder, Binu Reghunathan revealed the names of the expert panelists for the upcoming Celebrate Tech! and pitch event.

As a part of the upcoming summer event, Celebrate Tech! the event will culminate with a live pitch competition sponsored by IBM Global Entrepreneur, with prize packages valued at over $120,000 at stake. Mr. Reghunathan noted that, “in order to do full justice to the level and quality of the contestants, we needed the top tech startup thought leaders from our region. We are fortunate enough to have been able to secure the top thought leaders as judges for our competition.”

Introducing the Celebrate Tech! | Pitch Competition Panel of Judges

Gary Ritner

Founder and Investor | Seattle, Washington

Gary Ritner is an influential member of the Seattle/Bellevue venture capital and startup community. He is currently a manager at the Puget Sound Venture Club, as well as Ritner and company, which raises seed and venture capital for startup companies.

As the owner and founder of the Puget Sound Venture Club *, Gary has helped to pave the way for VC’s and numerous startups in the Puget Sound.

* Members of the PSVC are some of the Pacific Northwest’s most respected business leaders who each come from a wide range of backgrounds including angel investors, active and retired business executives, and serial entrepreneurs. – http://www.pugetsoundvc.com

Haresh Ved

Founder and Venture Investor | Seattle, Washington

Haresh Ved is the Founder and current Chair of TIE Angel Group Seattle. In addition, he is also the Founder and Managing General Partner of Cronus Ventures, LLC. In that capacity, he is deeply engaged in the day to day operations, including screening and performing the necessary due diligence leading to investment decisions for his firm.

With over 25 years in the IT industry and over 16 years of experience in Venture Capital, Haresh currently serves on the advisory board for MinettaBrook, Unify2, Exponential Entertainment Inc, Versium, and a several other successful businesses. Haresh is keenly interested in Mobility, Education & eLearning, and Healthcare products, services and solutions

Josh Maher

Author and Investor | Seattle, Washington

Josh is a passionate supporter of the Global startup community. In addition to all of his other pursuits, he is the author of “Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors Make Money in Startups.” *

Josh is currently President of Seattle Angel, a non-profit focused on education at the intersection of startups and angel investing. As an angel investor himself, he has been an active consultant, mentor, and adviser to startups, syndicates, family offices, institutional and individual investors, and venture funds since 2007.

* Startup Wealth delivers engaging interviews with early-stage investors in Google, Invisalign, ZipCar, Uber, Twilio, Localytics, and other successful and not so successful companies. You can learn more about the book and get additional material on the Startup Wealth website: http:ww.startupwealth.com

Betty Nokes Capestany

President & CEO – Bellevue Chamber of Commerce | Bellevue, WA

Betty has over 25+ years of experience helping businesses of all sizes and across all industries accelerate their companies. She has served as the CEO of the Bellevue (WA) Chamber of Commerce for the last 15 years. She has worked in non-profits; city government and the private sector so understands the key aspects for business success. Her areas of focus include: entrepreneurism, trends and opportunities, marketing, and business relevance. The Bellevue Chamber is active in helping great ideas take wings with programs like the Young Entrepreneur Academy; the Business of the Year Awards and also launching a Chamber Acceleration program. Betty is a thought leader in the industry and is past chair of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).

Her passions outside work include running marathons and spending time at her boys sporting activities.