“Ground control for Major Tom,” Prosina, the 29-year-old founder of Stellar Amenities, sings wistfully to an audience of about 100 people in San Francisco’s Mission District on Saturday night.
Welcome to the Snark Tank, where startup founders like Prosina pitch their businesses and comedians tear them apart for laughs. Between the laughs, there is a serious side to the evening. Most startups fail, so it’s important to identify and address problems early, say the panelists and their startup founder victims. However, brutally honest feedback can be surprisingly hard to come by in Silicon Valley.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the nation’s startup investment capital — and every deal starts with a pitch like the ones featured on “Snark Tank.” In the second quarter of 2024 alone, 18.7 billion dollars of venture capital was invested. Young companies in the region, according to data firm PitchBook, compared with $16.5 billion in the New York area and $2.5 billion in the Los Angeles area.
Despite this influx of money, many young businesses failed. “What people never talk about is the Death Valley of Silicon Valley,” said Paul Jurcys, 40, a frequent Snark Tank contributor himself, after the show. “A lot of founders come here only to find that their product has already been created, or that their idea doesn’t make sense, or that they don’t have a competitive advantage.”
In addition to facing ridicule, founders brave enough to appear on the Snark Tank teach basics like the importance of making eye contact and holding the microphone close to their mouth. And they heat up on the big stuff, like: What problem are you trying to solve? How big is the potential market for this product? And, uh, what exactly does your start-up do?
The vibe of the show is like a comedy show crossed with a tech industry networking event. After the comedians entertain, attendees will be able to ask questions of the founders in Patagonia tracksuits and Wharton Business School neckties. One audience member wore a monogrammed jacket proclaiming “IDEA to IPO.”
The event was created by Elizabeth Swaney, a 39-year-old Starbucks barista and comedian, former employer and Olympic skier.
Swaney said he wants to make the technology more accessible to the average person in hopes of making the industry more inclusive. Other tech events where founders seriously pitch their businesses to potential investors are “dry, one-note events that are informative but often don’t get people’s attention,” Swaney said. in the interview. He now frequently hosts shows in Los Angeles and New York, in addition to the Bay Area.
Swaney’s golden rule for roasting start-up founders is to give the original comment on their work and leave their clothing or appearance out of it. She admits she made an exception for the founder of a laundry startup who presented while wearing visibly wrinkled clothes.
Panelist AJ Gandhi, a private equity investor and venture capitalist, said the show succeeded by taking something “very boring” and turning it into entertainment. “The only fun thing in Silicon Valley is making fun of Silicon Valley,” he said.
Among the companies that presented at last month’s show were BioSieve, which is working on AI software aimed at identifying drug candidates for biotech companies; PigPug, creator of brainwave-powered headphones to help children manage symptoms of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and Code. CORRECTAI therapy software.
The panel peppered them questions and provocations such as: Your drug discovery slides are so vague that the horoscope looks more specific. What would happen to Silicon Valley if autism and ADHD were eradicated? And: Honestly, did this pitch take you more than 20 minutes to make?
Even the praise was delivered with a twist. “How come you had prepared slides and you rehearsed it and it was … consistent and a really good use of everyone’s time, why?” Heil asked Doga Makiura, founder of Degas, a microfinance platform for farmers around the world. The audience applauded it.
Rebecca Hardberger, a 45-year-old HR professional, was shocked by the business model of a founder who launched Applaz, a social network for people, less than a joke. Send content from their phone’s notes app. “I see how bad the Slacks are — I can only imagine the free notes,” said Hardberger, who keeps her husband’s times of hypocrisy private and doesn’t plan to make it public.
Constance Castillo, founder of Applaz, said she doesn’t shy away from “fear reactions” like these. He said in an interview that his platform allows users to post anonymously: “We want to share a note to be your authentic self.”
Several founders have said in interviews that they’re rethinking their pitches after taking their stake from a panel of investors and comedians. Ahmad Reza Cheragi, founder of Khoda. He said he was an AI he reconsiders the direction of the company based on the feedback he receives that night.
But Prosina’s All-Star Chance drew the most attention, in part because of the dramatic end to her pitch.
As he wraps up his presentation, a large image of Hal 9000, the destructive AI from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, appears on a floor-to-ceiling projector screen.
The ominous reference leads the audience member to it Ask a question this is becoming more common as more AI products appear to be modeled Hollywood Dystopian Stories: Haven’t you seen the end of that movie? Prosina swears that she is not developing an AI that would turn evil. “We’re doing Hal 9000, but a good thing,” he says. “Someone who actually helps.”
Prosina involved in stand-up comedy he said he found the event cathartic — a break from projecting the image of being a serious founder with all the answers.
“I just knew that if I did something really bad, I could turn it into a joke,” he said. But he also received feedback that led him to update his slides to clarify the market share he wanted to capture and what his startup might be worth.
However, he continues to call his space-faring chatbot Tom. “I am not changing the name. I’m pretty confident with that name,” he said week after the event. At least one audience member felt comfortable with the branding: After the event, Prosina was approached by someone offering a $50,000 angel investment.
As for Swaney, he’s in the process of making the Snark Tank more than just a good night out. He has filed paperwork to incorporate his startup, Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC, to run the show, and is working with a lawyer serving on the panel to draft documents that will allow the panelists to raise capital in the startup business.
Swaney, who has also worked as a TV production assistant and understudy, plans to pitch the show to potential investors and TV executives — which means he’s hitting his home turf.
What would happen if he presented his speech on one of his shows? “He definitely needs a job,” Swaney said. “I know I’m going to get roasted a lot on my own show.”