Cooley recently completed the 3rd annual San Francisco CooleyED conference and pitch night with two days of unique panels, discussions and networking opportunities building out connections in the edtech ecosystem. The event kicked off at General Assembly with a startup pitch night where eight edtech seed-stage companies made “Shark Tank” style pitches to a panel of seasoned investors and innovators along with an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and thought leaders driving the future of work and future of learning. Our esteemed panel of judges included Nika Duan (Emerson Collective), Chian Gong (Reach Capital), Mark Miller (Good Harbor Partners/LearnLaunch) and Elaine Wu (VIPKid). The presenting companies were selected from a highly competitive pool of applications.
Presenting companies
After a robust evening of pitches and networking, the second half of our CooleyED events resumed the next morning at Cooley’s San Francisco Office and focused on panels and “fireside chats” with successful entrepreneurs and investors sharing advice regarding diverse segments of the edtech ecosystem. The day began with a fireside chat with Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner, GSV and co-founder of the ASU GSV Summit, and ended with a discussion with Tony Miller, Managing Partner, Excolere Equity Partners and former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the US Department of Education. The conference also included two panels of early, mid and late-stage companies and investors that provided insights, predictions and valuable (and entertaining) advice from their impressive experience.
Panel speakers included
Joy Chen – US Chief Investment Officer, TAL Education Group
John Danner – Managing Partner, Dunce Capital
Victor Hu – Managing Partner, Lumos Capital Group
Tom Kovats – Vice President, Finance, Coursera
Sarah Leoni – CEO, Greenfig
Karl Mehta – CEO, Edcast
Amit Patel – Managing Director, Owl Ventures
Our next CooleyED event is scheduled for June in London as part of London Edtech Week. If you would like more information on participating in any of our upcoming events, please reach out to Rebecca Lanz.
CooleyED events are designed to connect invited companies, investors and other ecosystem builders in an interactive environment fueling network building and helping companies grow. Attendance is free of charge and companies are eligible to participate without regard to Cooley affiliation. CooleyED events are held annually in New York in November, in the SF Bay area in February and at various times in international cities.