Who built Philly Startup Leaders? Over 15 years, these community members — and many more

Moore thinks so. Even though people have come and gone from the startup-boosting organization, everyone has the same goal to see the Philly startup community flourish — especially the founders within it.

“I think about the idea that a bunch of people getting together to cry on each other’s shoulders about how hard this is, years ago, has evolved into something that matters profoundly so much to so many people who have ended up building amazing companies, gone through amazing experiences, grown together, failed together and struggled together,” said Moore, now CEO of Crossbeam and former president of the PSL board, from the Science History Institute stage.

“And the one common thread that weaves through all of it, is this idea of PSL.”

Moore was speaking at PSL’s Glass Breakers Ball and awards dinner on Tuesday night, where both the room and the people were shiny. The Institute’s ballroom was decorated with balloons and glitter as members of the Philly tech and entrepreneurship community connected with each other, recognized award winners and bid on items at the event’s silent auction.

The awards dinner was one of the events the nonprofit organized to recognize its 15-year anniversary. Last month, PSL hosted Founder Factory, a conference offering advice to local entrepreneurs, and a screening of the 10-year-old “Developing Philly” documentary series with a discussion with the filmmakers.

Recognition of long-time Philly Startup Leaders supporters

The awards ceremony started by recognizing the founders of PSL, inviting the following six people to come up onstage and accept Founders Awards:

• Doug Bellenger, cofounder and CEO of Well-Crafted Beer
• Chris Cera, CEO of Arcweb Technologies
• Brad Denenberg, founder at a stealth AI sports card grading and authentication startup and independent consultant
• Blake Jennelle, CTO at 645 Ventures
• Aaron McLean, chief of staff and CxO at Stuzo
• Tracey Welson-Rossman, CMO at Chariot Solutions and founder of Journal My Health

PSL recognized members of its Legacy Leaders Council, a group of community leaders who have been involved with the org for years and are now advising as its team plans future programming. The members of the council include:

• Doug Bellenger
• Chris Cera
• Jason Bannon, VP of marketing and communications at Ben Franklin Technology Partners
• Gloria Bell, founder of the Women in Tech Summit
• Jeff Bodle, partner at Morgan Lewis
• Liz Brown, director of user experience at the City of Philadelphia
• Brigitte Daniel-Corbin, CEO at Wilco Electronic Systems
• Frank Koehl, VP of product development at Trinity Cyber
• Patty Tawadros, founder and CEO of Studio x
• Ellen Weber, executive director of Robin Hood Ventures and Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures

The event also recognized past and current presidents and executive directors of PSL, as well as 15-Year Achievement Awards to people who have supported PSL’s growth over the years:

• Chris Cera
• Bob Moore
• Bob Moul, CEO at Circonus
• Wil Reynolds, founder and VP of Innovation at Seer Interactive
• Josh Kopelman, partner at First Round Capital
• Rick Nucci, cofounder and CEO at Guru
• Jake Stein, cofounder and CEO at Common Paper
• Gabe Weinberg, CEO and founder at DuckDuckGo
• The late Steve Goodman, startup attorney

The ceremony went on to announce awardees in nine categories.

Glass Breaker Ball award winners

The first was the Ceiling Smasher award, which recognized a woman in the tech and entrepreneurship community who supports other women in the industry. Tracey Welson-Rossman was the winner.

Ellen Weber and Tracey Welson-Rossman. (Technical.ly/Sarah Huffman)

Danae Mobley, COO at Coded by Kids and executive director of 1Philadelphia, and Shannon Morales, founder and CEO at Tribaja, won the SpaceMaker award, which honored people who are specifically focused on DEI in their work.

Chuck Sacco and Mel Baiada won the Ecosystem Innovators award on behalf of the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Close School of Entrepreneurship, which supports student entrepreneurs at Drexel University. This award recognized an organization whose work created a positive impact on the Philly tech ecosystem.

Nicodemus Madehdou, cofounder and CEO of JumpButton Studio, and Neferteri Strickland, founder of Teachers&, won the Rising Luminary award. This award recognized people who show promise as the next generation of leadership for Philly’s startup community.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners won the Navigator award, which recognized an organization that works collaboratively with other stakeholders in the Philly tech community.

Yasmine Mustafa and Morgan Berman. (Technical.ly/Sarah Huffman)

Gloria Bell and Rick Genzer, director at Ben Franklin Technology Partners, won the Northstar award. This award recognized people who are supportive and connective mentors.

Glen Gaddy, managing member at Robin Hood Ventures, Ellen Weber and won the Backer award, which honored investors who are committed to supporting the Philadelphia region.

Morgan Berman, founder of Glitter, and Yasmine Mustafa, CEO and cofounder of ROAR, won the Difference Maker award. This award went to entrepreneurs focused on sustainability and social impact.

Cory Donovan, executive director of ImpactPHL, and Eamon Gallagher, director of the Center for Law and Transformational Technology at Drexel University’s Thomas Kline School of Law, won the Exceptional Community Member award. This award recognized people in the community who work “behind the scenes” to help the ecosystem grow.

Cory Donovan and Eamon Gallagher. (Technical.ly/Sarah Huffman)

For a deeper look at PSL’s history and where the organization is headed, keep an eye out for Technical.ly’s 15-year retrospective on the organization, coming soon.

This editorial article is a part of Leadership Development Month of Technical.ly’s editorial calendar.