Find the Problem, Not the Idea: A Guide to Startup Success

Kristen has over 15 years of experience planning, launching, and promoting key initiatives designed to strengthen Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem. As Senior Director of Marketing at the Science Center, a Philadelphia-based innovation intermediary focused on advancing healthcare innovation, Kristen is responsible for executing a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy supporting the organization's enterprise initiatives. 

Kristen was a key player in the launch of Quorum including oversight of the first major fundraising campaign in the Science Center's history, raising $1M toward the initiative. She was involved with the launch of Venture Café Philadelphia which, together with Quorum, have collectively convened over 100,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders. Kristen oversaw the rebrand and launch of FirstHand, the Science Center’s nationally recognized STEM education program for middle and high school students. In partnership with Wexford Science + Technology, Kristen played an integral role in rebranding the Science Center’s physical campus to uCity Square, a 27-acre, 6.5M square foot mixed-use real estate development home to 200 companies and 10,000 workers. Kristen also worked closely with Boston-based CIC as the global coworking operator planned and launched its Philadelphia expansion at uCity Square.

A native of Philadelphia, Sylvester Mobley has earned the attention and recognition of his peers after launching and building Coded by Kids - a youth tech education non-profit that grew from serving one child in a Philly rec center to serving hundreds of students in the region. Sylvester focuses his work on preparing underrepresented people for leadership roles in the tech and innovation space. 

Sylvester’s other major initiatives include launching the early-stage venture capital firm, startup incubator, and startup accelerator, Plain Sight Capital (PSC). As the Managing Director of PSC, he prepares underrepresented founders leading tech and tech-driven startups to raise venture capital while providing them with pre-seed and seed-stage investments. Sylvester is also an Entrepreneur in Residence with Osage Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm.