Davide Accomazzo, Chief Investment Officer of Thalassa Capital, served as a judge at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s ninth annual Most Fundable Companies showcase on September 23, 2026. This year the showcase also hosted the Startup World Cup Los Angeles Regional, and Davide sat on that judging panel as well.
The competition
More than 2,100 companies applied this year. Fourteen were named Most Fundable Companies, spanning healthcare, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, clean energy, transportation, consumer products and advanced technology. Winners were selected by a panel of investors, venture advisors and Pepperdine faculty, using many of the same fundamentals professional investors apply: business model, leadership and the potential for durable growth.
For the first time, all fourteen companies also pitched live in the Startup World Cup Los Angeles Regional. Enexor Energy, which converts organic waste diverted from landfills into renewable energy, advanced to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, where founders from around the world compete for a $1 million investment.
The full announcement is on Pepperdine’s newsroom.
Why it matters to our clients
Judging early-stage companies is an exercise in the same discipline we bring to client portfolios: separating a compelling narrative from the economics underneath it. Sitting on these panels keeps Davide close to where new businesses are being built, and to how founders and investors are thinking about risk, capital and valuation today.
The work also continues Davide’s long association with Pepperdine Graziadio, where he teaches finance in the MBA program. We are grateful to the school and to Craig Everett and the Most Fundable Companies team for the invitation, and we congratulate this year’s founders.
As always, please reach out if you would like to discuss how developments in private markets and innovation bear on your own portfolio.