Are startup founders building their own spotlight?

Travis Geiger, CXO of WagerWire, joins fellow founders Jonathan Gruber of Loserball, Desiree Dickerson of THNDR and Josh Swerdlow of ChatBet for a Reverse Pitch session at ICE Barcelona 2026, flipping the usual power dynamic between startups and industry gatekeepers.

Geiger introduces The Starties as a response to what he describes as “pay-to-play” awards that tend to favour incumbents, sponsors and well-funded players. The concept is simple: startups judging startups. 

By shifting recognition back to founders themselves, The Starties aim to offer early-stage companies visibility and validation without having to court the same panels of judges or commercial partners.

Startup founders look beyond revenue to measure success

It is difficult for startups to cut through industry noise. Using shared exposure and mentorship, The Starties position the community as the solution, empowering founders who might otherwise struggle to gain visibility.

In contrast to traditional awards, the initiative sees itself less as a commercial venture and more as a community platform. Success is not measured in revenue but in outcomes for participating companies. “We measure success by the success of the people that are a part of The Starties community,” Geiger says.

As the initiative grows, the panellists acknowledge the challenge of preserving a founder-first culture while welcoming larger corporate sponsors. 

The proposed answer lies in collective ownership of values, distributed leadership and expansion through collaboration-led events rather than scaling for its own sake. “We all have a value system that we’re not willing to compromise,” Geiger adds.

Watch more ICE 2026 studio highlights on the iGB YouTube channel.