Join the 2025 GAIN Investment Prize — Support Entrepreneurship at Georgetown

Thank you to this year’s GAIN Prize contributors:

Devon George (B’01)

Jon DeSimone (C’92, Parent’20)

Marc Sulam (B’84)

Reilly Davis (B’12)

David Shepherd (SFS’88, Parent’24)

Eric Woods (B’91)

Anonymous

Leon Keshishian (C’92, Parent’26)

Will Finnerty (B’94)

Timothy Billings (B’95, Parent’25)

Michael O'Brien (B’88, Parent’20, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’25)

Peter Mellen (B’89, MBA’98, Parent’26, ’28)

Eric Schwartz (B’01)

Devon George (B’01) Jon DeSimone (C’92, Parent’20) Marc Sulam (B’84) Reilly Davis (B’12) David Shepherd (SFS’88, Parent’24) Eric Woods (B’91) Anonymous Leon Keshishian (C’92, Parent’26) Will Finnerty (B’94) Timothy Billings (B’95, Parent’25) Michael O'Brien (B’88, Parent’20, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’25) Peter Mellen (B’89, MBA’98, Parent’26, ’28) Eric Schwartz (B’01)

Join fellow Georgetown Angel Investor Network (GAIN) members who will invest in the winner of the 8th GEA Alumni Pitch Competition, held during John Carroll Weekend in Philadelphia, PA. This unique opportunity allows you to make a meaningful impact by supporting the Georgetown entrepreneurial community and championing promising alumni founders.

Since 2019, contributions from Georgetown alumni angel investors have funded an investment prize awarded to the winning company, fueling their potential and inspiring top-tier alumni entrepreneurs to compete. While there is a chance of financial return, the primary purpose of this prize is to empower Georgetown founders to showcase their ventures on a prominent stage.

This may be the right opportunity for you if…

  • You want to support the alumni entrepreneurship ecosystem at Georgetown by contributing to the $100,000 investment prize that makes the Alumni Pitch Competition possible.

  • You want to help champion the growth of entrepreneurship at Georgetown by taking a personal stake in the Alumni Pitch Competition, directly supporting the success of the event and the winning company.

  • You value early access, gaining an opportunity to stand first in line relative to later investors in case the company’s financing round becomes oversubscribed.

  • You prefer streamlined decision-making, supporting Georgetown’s top talent without the heavy lifting of diligence, and instead relying on expert judges and the GAIN Investment Review Committee to select the finalists and winning company.

GAIN Prize Investor Benefits

  • An equity stake (or potential equity stake, if the investment vehicle is a convertible note or Simple Agreement for Future Equity [SAFE]) in the winning company.

  • Invitation to the GEA Alumni Pitch Competition on April 5, 2025 at John Carroll Weekend in Philadelphia, PA.

  • An opportunity to meet the entrepreneur finalists and the prize winner at the Pitch Competition in Philadelphia, PA.

  • Recognition in promotional materials, if desired.

This may NOT be the right opportunity for you if…

  • You are looking primarily for a financial return. Angel investing is very risky to begin with, and investing in an investment prize is even more risky because (a) you are committing to a blind pool; and (b) the diligence process for the pitch competition is not thorough and should be considered light compared to the normal GAIN diligence process. 

  • You prefer conducting your own in-depth research and evaluation: following the Pitch Competition, GAIN will run a pitch cycle with all of the competition finalists including the winner. If you choose to participate in this process, you can make an investment then with the benefit of far more information, assuming that the winning company has allocation available for later investors.

The Choice is Yours.

  • Invest in the GAIN Prize and optionally make additional investments in the subsequent GAIN pitch cycle.

  • Wait until the subsequent pitch cycle to carefully evaluate the finalists and winning company, and make your investment decisions then.

how it works

Participation in the GAIN Prize is exclusively available to GAIN members. After the judges select a winner, the entrepreneur will reach out to prize contributors to re-confirm commitments and finalize the investment.

Event Details: Join us on April 5, 2025 at John Carroll Weekend Philadelphia to meet the finalists and fellow investors. Prize commitments are due by January 31, 2025.

PRIZE SELECTION and INVESTMENT Process

Supporting early-stage ventures comes with inherent risks, and most contributors join the GAIN Prize to foster Georgetown founders, not solely for financial returns. Here’s what to expect as a prize contributor:

  1. Application Review: The GAIN Investment Review Committee scores applications based on factors like market opportunity, product, marketing, financials, and team strength. This process narrows the field to 5-8 semifinalists and, ultimately, 3-4 finalists.

  2. Finalist Selection: Semifinalists present their pitches virtually, and the review committee selects 3-4 finalists for the live competition.

  3. Pitch Competition: Finalists deliver their pitches live at the John Carroll Weekend in Philadelphia, facing expert judges who select the winner based on pitch quality and initial criteria.

  4. Capital Call: If the winning company accepts the prize, prize investors will join the currently open financing round at the terms then being offered to other investors. If no round is currently open, we may invest with a SAFE note. The capital call will take place no later than 120 days following the pitch competition.

  5. Ongoing Portfolio Management: GAIN tracks the progress of the winning company as part of its portfolio.

Join us in supporting Georgetown founders and building a lasting legacy within the Georgetown entrepreneurial community.

HISTORY

In 2019, members of the Georgetown Angel Investor Network (GAIN) pooled their investment funds for the first time to contribute a $30,000 prize. Over 100 companies applied to participate in the pitch competition that took place as part of John Carroll Weekend in Boston, MA. The GEA organized the pitch competition and narrowed the field to four finalists.  At the pitch competition, a panel of judges that included alumni angel investor judges from GAIN picked the winner.

GAIN Prize winners include:

  • 2019 - Renewal Mill: a Hoya-backed next-generation ingredient company that upcycles fiber and protein produced during large-scale food manufacturing into high-quality ingredients and products.

  • 2020 - Marcella NYC: a fashion company that seeks to revolutionize the ethics of fashion for the benefit of women and girls globally.

  • 2022 - Joylet: a baby and toddler gear rental company that gives parents access to the best baby gear with flexible rental terms and without storage hassles.

  • 2023 - Oxiwear: an ear wearable device that continuously monitors the oxygen levels and alerts the wearer when their oxygen levels falls too low.

  • 2024 - Pratt Standard Cocktail Company: a cocktail syrup brand that makes handcrafted small-batch cocktail syrups inspired by pre-Prohibition recipes.

This year (2025) marks the sixth year that the Alumni Pitch Competition will include a GAIN Investment Prize. Previously, the winner received a cash prize from a sponsor of the competition. The 2017 and 2018 winners were Veterati and Tampon Tribe, respectively. GEA did not host a pitch competition in 2021 due to Covid-19.

  • The Georgetown Angel Network ("GAIN") is not an investment advisor, venture fund, investment bank, broker, dealer or investment clearing‐house. It is a forum in which select members of the Georgetown alumni community ("Members") may be educated on aspects of investing in emerging companies and introduced to companies for possible investment.  GAIN is not registered as an investment advisor, broker/deal or in any other capacity with the Securities Exchange Commission or any state securities commission, and GAIN does not recommend or otherwise provide advice with respect to investments in any company, security or industry. Each Member is responsible for his or her own investigation and investment decisions.  All investments in startup companies involve a high degree of risk, and investors should be able to bear the risk of complete financial loss of their investment. The choice to use, manner of utilization of, and information and knowledge gained through, GAIN is each Member's individual choice. No guidance shall be given by GAIN, nor shall any person affiliated with GAIN (or GAIN itself) be responsible for a Member's use of the information, investment decision or the results of any investment.  GAIN does not conduct any investigation to verify the information submitted to potential investors by entrepreneurs and makes no representation or warranty of any kind regarding the investment opportunities presented or the materials provided through this network. GAIN does not provide any tax, compliance, reporting, legal or other advice, and Members should seek appropriate professional assistance in connection with their consideration of each investment opportunity. The judges, investors, and organizers conduct very little diligence on any of the companies that participate in the pitch competition. There is a very high probability that investors in the winning company will eventually lose all of the capital that they invested in the company. Most GAIN Prize investors choose to participate in the GAIN Prize as a way of supporting entrepreneurship at Georgetown, not to generate meaningful financial returns.

  • GUAA AND GAIN EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND OR NATURE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE INFORMATION AND MATERIALS RELATING TO ANY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED THROUGH GAIN. AS A CONDITION TO YOUR PARTICIPATION IN GAIN, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, YOU HEREBY WAIVE AND RELEASE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, CAUSES OF ACTION OR OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE AGAINST GAIN AND EACH OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND OTHER MEMBERS ("GAN PARTIES") ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO ANY INVESTMENT OR ANY MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH GAIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE GAIN PARTIES BE LIABLE (JOINTLY OR SEVERALLY) TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF INVESTMENT, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOST DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH GAIN, ANY INVESTMENT PRESENTED THROUGH GAIN AND ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIALS OBTAINED THROUGH GAIN, ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, AND WHETHER OR NOT A GAIN PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.