Pitch, Run, and Raise: The Startup Marathon Continues

PNR keeps fueling founders (one mile and one newsletter at a time)

Author

Jon Newman
September 05, 2025

Happy first day back to school (to those who celebrate), and welcome to fall. It’s the season of new beginnings, fresh starts, long runs, and startup fundraising!

Raising, hiring, and more fun

In the PNR newsletter Launching Upscale AI, we discussed PNR’s role as a community, a connector, and a catalyzer for the ambitious seeking to build businesses and communities. Upscale AI was a company born from sweat, community, and early-ish morning runs, and we hope to continue to support the community in building things bigger than ourselves (Retica is raising its seed round, btw).

  • Retica Technologies is building the identity and access infrastructure for the digital and physical world - eliminating the need for passwords, keys, cards, and reliance on our phones.

    • Retica just filed its second provisional patent for a mobile phone-based enrollment process that cryptographically binds identity to a synthesized biometric profile - combining facial, iris, voice, and other modalities into a unified identity token.

    • If you’re an investor interested in building the future of identity, authentication, and using your body as your password, reach out to us on LinkedIn or [email protected].

  • Dash Labs is hiring! Dash Labs is building a desktop client for enterprise AI workflows - helping companies use AI safely and effectively with their data. Two key roles:

    • Lead designer - Shape AI interaction patterns, design systems, and user research

    • Data integrations engineer - Build the data layer, customer-facing data pipeline, and enterprise integrations

    • More about the positions and apple here: http://dashlabs.com/jobs

  • Jessica Shpall Rosen recently launched the More Than A Fallback Theatre Club, curating shows in a monthly newsletter and hosting events for her professional network. Join us for special events in NYC this fall or in cities across the US at the award-winning musical SUFFS on tour. To learn more and apply to join, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/BiTo73NC1jXJL2XbA

  • Jackson Hole Hiking Trip 2025 | Group Teton Adventure with PeakHouse — PeakRankings, SEPTEMBER 7-10! Links for details! Submit application BY SEP 5, 5pm ET

  • AUSTIN Pitch competition + social event, September 24, downtown Austin, TX.

    • Sign up to pitch at https://pitchatx.com.

    • Who can apply? Early-stage, pre-seed, and idea-stage founders, everyone’s welcome!

    • How to apply? Submit a simple Loom video pitch of your idea by September 14. The top five will pitch live on September 24 in front of judges (incl. PayPal, angel investors, and more).

    • Prizes include $5,000 cash, $25,000 startup resources, 1-month free developer to help build the idea!

  • PNR NYC member and NYC Tech Pickleball founder partner on SDR talent engine

    • PNR member Ed Byrne (founder, SalesSprint) and John DiLoreto (founder, Knock2.ai, co-founder, NYC Tech Pickleball🏓) are partnering on NYC’s SDR talent engine, SalesSprint—a two-week bootcamp + apprenticeship kicking off in Midtown Sept 8th.

    • A 12-person cohort will do one week of intensive in-person training, followed by a week of real dialing and demo booking for program sponsor, Knock2. Graduates finish hire-ready with call recordings, booked meetings, and KPI snapshots.

    • Founders hiring SDRs? Grads ready Sept 19th .

    • Want to be a guest star for a sales training and feature? Training next week Sept 8-12

    • Ping Ed on LinkedIn, WhatsApp or email [email protected] 

PNR is a community of shared values and shared pace that can shape something much bigger than ourselves.

But PNR isn’t just about funding rounds. It’s about the humans behind the companies and funds its community is made up of. Whether writing memos at midnight, debugging in coffee shops, or training for marathons together, PNR is about building the ambitious, sweaty future. It’s a community of founders, builders, and believers who show up, put in the work, and run toward something bigger.

#PitchOnTheRun

Our latest Pitch on the Run episode is up on our social media platforms! In this one, Ivor Stratford, cofounder of Morpheus (and angel investor), tells us about Morpheus, a boutique venture- and startup-space staffing, recruiting, and executive search firm!

Reminder: LA + SF Tech Weeks

If interested in hosting an event for SF/LA Tech Weeks (Oct. 6-12, Oct. 13-19, respectively), submit an event proposal! Make the submission here!