Aurelius Newsletter October 2026

October 2026

Summer ended so quickly! What an incredible first year it’s been for us.

We’ve now worked with nearly 100 startups this year from idea to Series C and are already seeing results - shorter pitches, more sales, and almost $3M raised in less than 6 months. We are so grateful to help entrepreneurs in their journeys and to work with our supportive partners in making high impact pitch coaching accessible.

If you are interested in partnering with us, we are starting to book for spring and summer 2027.

News & Updates

We moved to Vermont! We’re expanding into New England—and beyond—while staying deeply connected to DC, MD, and VA.
New partnerships: We’re excited to add to our growing network of ecosystem partners.
- EcoMap: AI-powered ecosystem resource mapping & insights
- DC Startup & Tech Week
- Big Table Institute: impact-economy workshops
We’re an official SelectUSA Service Provider! Find Aurelius in the Service Provider Directory.
Aurelius in New Mexico: We spoke at the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development, on the importance of pitching skills as a lever of economic growth across founders and employees.
Accelerate Investor Conference 2026: We returned for a second year as reviewers.
HBCU Entrepreneurship Empowerment Summit 2026 — We served as mentors in residence again.

Coming up:

gener8tor West Virginia: We’re mentoring founders in the gBETA startup accelerator at Marshall University’s iCenter.
SXSW Pitch Advisory Board 2027! We’re excited to continue supporting the next wave of founders.
Release of our podcast episode with AI researcher and ethical AI builder Hobson Lane (Co-Founder & CTO of Tangible AI)
…coming soon — new partner announcements about our Collective network of advisors and consultants. Experts in supporting startups, small and medium sized businesses from inception to exit

Client Wins & New Testimonials:

Potomac24 — Awarded a $40K Technology Advancement Award by TEDCO
Appellate — Raised $1M since participating in the Aurelius-led MIC Pitch Mastermind in March.
Freedom Buckets — Selected as audience Wildcard Finalist in Virginia’s regional Battle of the Regions pitch competition and headed to the championships at DC Startup & Tech Week.
Korea Innovation Center Washington DC - new testimonial

Conference Partners

We are proud partner of DC Startup & Tech Week 2026! 🚀

DCSTW26 brings founders, investors, and industry leaders together for 150+ sessions, 300+ speakers, 18 industry tracks, and pitch competitions—including the 36-company Battle of the Regions. Taking place October 19–23 across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia!

If you are building, investing, or supporting the startup and technology ecosystem, join us and connect during the week.

Receive 10% Off with code AureliusDCSTW2610OFF

SECURE YOUR TICKET

KIC DC Tech Summit 2026

Join the Korea Innovation Center on October 21 at the in Washington D.C for their annual summit featuring keynotes from Jungsang Kim, co-founder of IonQ and Mijae Shin, CEO & President of Kaigene.

Dozens of top Korean startups will pitch to a panel of investor judges in DeepTech and Bio/Health. Startups are ready for US market expansion and are pre-seed to Series C.

If you’re interested in investing, partnering, or expanding across the U.S.–Korea innovation corridor, this event is for you. Space is limited.

SECURE YOUR SPOT

We’re proud to serve again on the SXSW Pitch Advisory Board and help discover the next generation of innovative startups!

If you're building something transformative and ready to showcase your company on one of the world's biggest innovation stages, we encourage you to apply for SXSW Pitch 2027.

Deadline to Apply: November 13, 2026

APPLY NOW

Upcoming Events

AI//UNBOUND — PEN Ventures - Oct 15 - NYC // Korean AI startup pitches and investor connections.
MIC Great Pumpkin Pitch - Oct 15 - Columbia, MD // Five startup pitches, $10K+ in prizes and networking.
DC Startup & Tech Week - Oct 19–23 - Washington, DC // Startup events, talks, workshops, competitions, and networking. [10% off with code AureliusDCSTW2610OFF]
KIC DC Tech Summit 2026 - Oct 21 - Washington, DC // Top Korean tech startups, pre-seed to Series C ready for US market expansion. Keynotes, pitch competitions, and investor networking.
Vermont Tech Jam - Oct 24 - Burlington, VT // Free tech expo connecting talent and innovators.
CORI: Small Towns, Big Ideas - Oct 29 - Hanover, NH + online // 5 Rural tech founders pitch for $10K.
Dartmouth AI at 70 - Oct 29–31 - Hanover, NH + online // Exploring AI’s future and the implications. Where AI was invented 70 years ago.
Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Forum - Nov 12 - Baltimore, MD // Emerging tech pitches and investor networking.
ChesaPitch of Champions - Dec 2 - Arnold, MD // Innovation summit and championship startup pitches.

More Resources

Download the 2026 National Academies’ The U.S. Research Enterprise and the Nation’s Economic Future brief for insights on connecting education, research, and commercialization to advance innovation (we helped plan this workshop).
Are you fundraising or helping those that do? If you fill out our 5-Minute Survey Prioritizing Your Next Funding Toolkit, you'll help us decide what to build next for people like you and you'll get a discount on it. Feel free to share the survey.
Video: Startup Pitching 101 (UMD Startup Fundamentals)

Opportunities

Resources for Exiting

We’re teaming up with Velaris Wealth Partners and Gen X Exec Encore on a free webinar for founders, business owners, and executives thinking about exit and what comes next. - Tell us what you’d like us to cover!

Tell Us!

This Fall, the Big Table Institute is hosting two virtual workshop series about entrepreneurship and the impact economy, designed specifically for 1) career transitioning professionals who are trying to figure out their next steps and who want to be a part of building a better world, and 2) small business owners or startup founders who want to better understand what it means to grow a regenerative enterprise. Hear from impact leaders such as Jeffrey Hollender (Seventh Generation), Laurie Lane-Zucker (Impact Entrepreneur), Fernanda Sesto (Transform Finance), Samantha Karlin (Empower Global), and more. Scholarship application deadline: Oct 16.

Foundations of Impactful Entrepreneurship:

https://bigtableinstitute.org/impactstudio/foundations/

Systems Change & the Impact Economy:

https://bigtableinstitute.org/impactstudio/systemschange/

What if you could build your business for significantly less?

When Velma Funebe, Pava Innovation Awardee and founder of iBraid, needed a complete brand identity, she turned to Kairos.

Her project—including logo design, brand colors, typography, visual direction, messaging, and more—cost just $350 through Kairosng.com.

For comparison, a similar brand starter package is currently listed on Upwork for $2,300. Velma’s Kairos project cost 84.78% less than that benchmark.

Events we attended

Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Forum in DC at George Washington University
REAL Professionals Network DC chapter lunch: Andy Bauer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Baltimore spoke.
Moxie Award 2026 Kickoff Event
Critical Minerals and the Future of Secure Supply Chains at PYXERA Global (DC Climate Week)
R.E.P. Program Graduation in Silver Spring, MD
SelectUSA Investment Summit 2026 in National Harbor, MD; we judged Tech 1 track of the pitch competition.
TAcc+ Taiwan Innovation Spotlight 2026: SelectUSA Edition
UpSurge, Greater Baltimore Committee: Ecosystem Linkup
HBCU Empower Conference with the Howard University & PNC National Center for Entrepreneurship
Pava Innovation Exchange at TEDCO - updates from awardees
KIC DC TeX Field Trip at the Maryland Innovation Center (we led this one!)
New Mexico Governor’s Conference on Economic Development in Albuquerque, NM (we spoke at this one!)