About

Our "Practice Pitch Breakfast" is not a competition. It is a time for entrepreneurs and investors to fellowship, learn from each other and build  relationships with one another no matter where we are located. Join us for our upcoming virtual "breakfast" where you will learn from companies practicing their pitch and gain insight from guest speakers on industry specific topics. Our goal is to come in as strangers and leave as family. 

RSVP for our upcoming Breakfast

Pitch Company
John Matthews, CEO of e-Bless

CEO/Co-Founder
e-Bless, Prothymos Innovations, LLC
 John is also the creator of the P2P Payment App called E-Bless (available on both Play Stores). John completed his studies in Fintech from the Harvard VPAL Business School in the Fall of 2020. In his personal life, John is a devoted husband, a loving father, a community leader, a poet, a playwright, an actor, and director of several gospel stage plays.  John has also served in ministry for 20 years and currently serves as the Assistant Pastor of Manifested Glory Worship Center, a Non-denominational Church in Westminster, Md.  John is commissioned to bring economic change and empowerment to those in underserved communities.

Guest Speaker
Nathan Blair, CEO of Games for Love

Creator / Chairman of the Board / CEO
Games for Love
Nathan "Jetti" Blair is an Award-winning, 2x Medaled Civilian, American Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Innovator in the Tech & Entertainment Industries. He is CEO of Games for Love a 501(c)(3) Non-profit dedicated to easing the suffering of children and saving the lives of children worldwide, and AniHQ, an Animation industry disruptor (Stealth-Mode). Nathan is a mentor to many successful entrepreneurs all over the world. He is married with 3 amazing kids. More than anything, he is a friendly face giving hope and encouraging all in his line of sight to pursue dreams as passionate, empathetic, and redemptive humans looking to leave the world a better place than we found it.

Investor Feedback

1. It’s a really good idea. Very interesting.
2. I wonder if you might discuss how you are doing the outreach and the sales?
3. There is a lot of for-profit companies in the market today that are trying to focus on the community aspect of the business.
4. I think to be able to promote who your backend of the provider is – Question is how can you grow that?
5. This was great. I really enjoyed your presentation.
6. I really liked when you introduced your team and attached a descriptor to each one that made us realize that you know each one of those individuals well. Like, somebody was a “guru” or “extraordinaire”. I haven’t seen that in a lot of pitches. That one descriptor for each part of your team really stood out.
7. I also liked that you showed the pace and the energy – that you started this right away, you moved it forward, and you already have customers. It shows that you are a doer – you’ve made it start.
8. Question – Your business model in terms of earning a percentage, how does it compare to your competitors? That might be something to add in there (standard like the industry or maybe a little lower).
9. When congregants want to give to friends or another non-profit, how would they separate out a friend who would not get a tax receipt? How do they discern which ones are tax deductible?
10. I want to encourage you and your team to continue to pursue this. I think if you are in a church organization, this is almost a no-brainer. I’m assuming your fees are competitive.
11. I think you’ve got to figure out how to build trust within that church community. You’ve got to take down those barriers of mistrust as quickly as you can. Is this safe? Is my money going to be fiduciarily secure? Other people trust human relations – I know this person…
12. Once you get the 4-5 trust elements built into your sales funnel, demonstrate them, and prove you can do what you say you can – you are in a great space for a rapid rate of deployment.
13. You are kind of like a PayPal for churches or Venmo.
14. I think it is a great idea whose time is overdue. Great pitch and concept. I am going to be paying attention to your company.
15. I would reemphasize how it would be interesting to see how the rates compare to competitor rates. That is an important piece of information for me.
16. Micro-level – become attached to the whole brand.
17. Another idea is to investigate a P-card. That is a hot area right now.
18. I am in investment banker and a big conversation is for blockchain for credit card processing – but if you could find a competitive edge for blockchain?
19. In your presentation, I noticed that one of the market comments you made is $124B going to religious organizations. I think it is important to define what percentage of those religious organizations are churches (Christian churches or other religions).
20. Two things – one as it relates to giving to international ministries – is that a part of the plan?
21. The other comment is that I typically focus on the faith integration component, so this will sound a little bit out of character but let me encourage you to pay attention to that financial bottom line. It is very hard to do good if you are not doing well. In the attempt to try and lower your transaction fees to save money for the churches (micro-finance, micro-lending) in order to be a blessing… The risk then is that you run out of cash, and you serve no good to anyone. Just be mindful of that.
22.  

 

Your Thoughts

"I was a first-timer, but I finished with a great feeling of community. My career is in the investment industry, and therefore I'd like to stay in touch with your community to find out how I can serve. Thank you for arranging a great meeting. God bless."

"Overall, I thought John was concise and mastered the vision and conveyed it well."

"Conversations and purpose continues to impress me."

"I think John's service is a valuable one.  I think his service and offering were ideally situated for our group."

"I enjoyed it and consider it one of the best parts of the morning meeting."

"It was very helpful. I received some really great advice and feedback."

"It was amazing. If felt really good hearing from the Christian community of founders and investors."

​"The pitch was a great start. Needs a bit of polishing, including showing revenue stream and projections. Very personable and built trust."

"Excellent content and excellent knowledge of the industry. Great suggestions and tips. Trustworthy advice."

"I enjoyed the breakfast event and the spirit behind it."