Let's face it. While it's grand to hear about about proven startups scoring more and more funding in later rounds and expanding their company, there's nothing more exciting than hearing a brilliant idea in its infancy and seeing young, hard-working entrepreneurs getting their first breaks. That's why TechBUZZ Fall 2013 at Georgetown University tomorrow is a must attend event if you want to connect with the future innovators of the D.C. metro area – companies that could be the Living Socials, Blackboards and OPOWERs of the near future.
In its third installment this year, Mid-Atlantic Venture Association's TechBUZZ will feature 18 of the mid-Atlantic area's youngest and most-innovative startups and give them a chance to present in front of, gain feedback from and form valuable business relationships with early-stage investors and VCs. Dwight Gibbs, CEO of web-based procurement management system Contraqer, said of his experience in TechBUZZ earlier this year, "TechBUZZ allows you to reach a tremendous number of investors and other entrepreneurs in a very short period of time. It would take you months to reach the same people, if you could even get to them."
“TechBUZZ offers an incredible platform for connecting up-and-coming companies from across the Mid-Atlantic with the many contributors who share in a start-up’s success, including seed and angel investors, corporate business partners and fellow entrepreneurs, all while highlighting these companies on stage during a 4-minute pitch,” said Julia Spicer, Executive Director of MAVA, in a news release. “For companies both on the stage and in our audience, TechBUZZ helps to accelerate the growth of early-stage companies as they take their product or service to the commercial market.”
And tomorrow, MAVA has invited another stellar panel of investors, CEOs and mentors: Michael Goldstein, founder of Exhilarator; Jim Hunt, founding member of Blu Venture Investors; Shaun Johnson, co-cofounder of Startup Institute; Alexis Juneja, co-founder of Curbed Network; Brian Smith, partner at In-Q-Tel; Rick Toren, CSO of QPID, Inc.; Sever Totia, principal of Edison Venture; and Maxwell Wessel, VP of business innovation and incubation at SAP. These men and women, leaders in the their fields, will be valuable assets for giving advice to and networking with the nearly 20 young companies presenting tomorrow.
But let's not forget those startups, the reasons MAVA hosts these events each year. Here's a brief look at the 18 participants selected from a group of more than 200 to present at TechBUZZ Georgetown tomorrow:
- Aquicore – a software to analyze data and reduce energy usage in residential and commercial buildings.
- C2D – helps travelers with trip planning better trips by calculating gas costs and highlights worthy hotels, restaurants and attractions.
- CTBIM, Inc. – a software as a service bringing real-time information, transparency and accountability to the construction industry.
- Encore – helps brands take advantage of their social media analytics and trends.
- Facility3D – an innovative way to manage facilities with a 3D, interactive program
- Firejack, Inc. – helps people create custom software for the cloud.
- Kaprica Security – creator of the Skorpion, a smartphone security system that identifies and fixes compromises just by charging your phone.
- Naaya – a game-based social learning platform for K-6 students focused on teaching social/global studies and 21st century skills.
- Open Assembly – an e-learning platform for the college market that radically lowers course material costs.
- Pinbooster – helps brands engage and sustain relationships with consumers on Pinterest.
- Power Fingerprinting, Inc. – provides disruptive cyber security integrity assessment and intrusion detection solutions for critical cyber systems.
- Rehabtics – a medical software system for physical rehabilitation using motion-controlled video games.
- Riide – an affordable electric bicycle designed without compromising performance or design.
- SameGrain – a social discovery platform that helps people locate and connect with others that share similarities, with privacy in mind.
- The Trip Tribe – connects travelers seeking a group vacation with both curated tour suppliers and the right people to travel with based on social profiles.
- TourCommand – an artist development and management platform for helping artists build and grow their career through self-empowerment tools.
- Trupath – helps physicians and hospitals succeed on their public and reimbursable quality metrics.
- VisitDays – optimizes campus visitor data to predict every freshman class for every school even before applications roll in.
And there you have it – TechBUZZ Georgetown's 18 presenting startups and the future of innovation in the mid-Atlantic region. The event will run from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Rafik B. Hariri Building in the university's McDonough School of Business. See you there.
[image via Washington Post]
