Produced by Guidewire Group, Innovate!2010 is a global program to identify and promote up-and-coming technology and communications startups from around the world.
Apply now for a chance to participate in a local Pitch Slam and compete to be named one of the 100 most promising startups of the year. There are Innovate!2010 Pitch Slams planned for the Midwest, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Austin, New York and Boston this summer and fall. (more)
Congratulations to the eight startups that were named as semi-finalists at the August 17th Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam we held in Seattle at pii2010:
Bynamite - Gives users a way to control the information that advertisers have about them.
IdeaScale - Enables organizations to increase engagement and get focused, effective feedback by crowdsourcing ideas.
InternMatch - Connects prospective interns with organizations offering internship opportunities.
Optify - Helps business marketers generate leads through organic search and social media, and measure results.
Pathable - Offers private, branded on-line communities to conferences and events that plug directly into a meeting’s existing registration and web service.
Tweetajob - Allows companies to tweet jobs to jobseekers based on location and job category.
Unvarnished - Helps users build, manage, and research professional reputation via community-contributed professional reviews.
Yoursphere - Offers children and young people through age 18 a unique kids-only online community experience that is rewards-based, content appropriate and age-relevant.
Each CEO gave a five-minute presentation to the audience and our panel of judges, which included Brady Forrest, David Geller, Rebecca Lovell, Fran Maier, Rob Monster, Chris Pirillo and Sam Rosenbalm. The judges evaluated each pitch using Guidewire Group’s G/Score methodology, selecting Seattle-based Optify as the Pitch Slam winner and guaranteeing it a spot on the Innovate!100 list. The Audience Choice vote went to the Quick Pitch winner, InternMatch.
Check out videos of each of the semi-finalists below:
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam we hosted at the pii2010 – privacy identity innovation conference in Seattle on August 17th. The Seattle event featured pitches from 13 startups, including six companies that participated in our first Quick Pitch competition.
Among the highlights, Quick Pitch competitor 123 Corporation officially launched its company, with chief marketing officer Howard Fried introducing the Silicon Valley startup’s Secret 1-2-3 email encryption service. InternMatch, a Seattle-based Quick Pitch company that went on to win the final spot in the Pitch Slam, surprised everyone when an “actual InternMatch intern” named Alex Lassiter delivered an impressive pitch on behalf of the company’s founder. It was a clever way to demonstrate the company’s service, which helps connect businesses with qualified interns, and InternMatch was later voted as the Audience Choice winner after CEO Andrew Maguire gave his own presentation.
Other startups that braved the timer with a 1-minute Quick Pitch included:
aNEWSme – A plug-and-play service that allows news publishers to personalize content and news on their sites.
Open Mobile Solutions – Self-service automated marketplace that allows you to be matched with qualified companies that will help you take your mobile apps to market
Wishpot – Helps retailers to merchandise their product in social networks
While there was only room for one company (InternMatch) to advance to the Pitch Slam round, all of the entrepreneurs in the Quick Pitch round did an amazing job — congratulations to them all!
To see them in action, check out the video below and look for more Quick Pitch presentations at our upcoming Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam events scheduled for Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Austin, New York and Boston.
Hot on the heels of our Missouri Pitch Slam, we’ll be heading to the Pacific Northwest for another Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam the evening of August 17th in downtown Seattle. Startups interested in presenting in Seattle have a few more days to submit a free application — the deadline is Monday, August 9th.
Part of the Seattle Geek Week festivities, the Seattle Pitch Slam is taking place during the pii2010 – privacy identity innovation conference at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center along the waterfront at Pier 66. The program will open with a cocktail reception from 4:30pm to 5:30pm, so make sure to arrive early enough to grab a drink before the pitches begin.
Admission to the Pitch Slam is included when you register for pii2010 (Use discount code 4SLAM to save 20% on pii2010 tickets), or you can buy a standalone ticket to the cocktail reception and Pitch Slam for only $40. It’s one of the best times of year to be in Seattle and we’re looking forward to a fun evening of networking in the Emerald City during Seattle Geek Week as part of our search for the most promising startups of 2010!
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