Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship hosts first Demo Day

The Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship recently hosted its first schoolwide Demo Day, a showcase event for early-stage investors. Highlighting an extensive variety of student ventures emerging from the School, the inaugural event was led by Faculty Chair Julia Austin and faculty advisers Lindsay Hyde, Allison Mnookin, and Christina Wallace.

Select student teams delivered five-minute pitches, others presented posters, and a carefully curated group of early-stage institutional and angel investors networked with students throughout the day.

“This event gives both students and investors the opportunity to get to know each other in a more intimate way and create connections,” said Austin. “While all teams were not actively seeking fundraising, it was an amazing sneak-peek opportunity for the investor community to meet up-and-coming HBS ventures, while also providing the students with valuable exposure and real-world experience.”

“I found the whole experience incredibly fruitful, both as a forcing function to get my pitch together ahead of investor conversations this spring and as an opportunity to meet interested investors,” added Katherine Manweiler, M.B.A. ’24.