Pitching is scary. Sitting down with a relative stranger to convince them that your company is the next big thing is enough to make an entrepreneur sweat bullets. After all, the right pitch can do a lot for the future of a new startup. And if you think a private meeting is stressful, imagine pitching in front of the crowd at Innovate Celebrate.
The top five finalists for the Startup of the Year competition pitched their companies to a panel of esteemed judges that will decide their fate later this afternoon. The judges included:
- Eric Bahn, general partner of Hustle Fund
- Mayra Ceja, principal at Social Starts
- Erica Duignan-Minnihan, managing partner at 1000 Angels
- Christine Herron, managing director at Intel Capital
- Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA
- David Wu, general partner at Maveron
If you’re interested in seeing what kind of companies impressed us the most at Innovate Celebrate, take a look at their Startup of the Year pitches below:
Allergy Amulet (Madison, WI)
https://www.facebook.com/techcomedia/videos/10154947275086778/
The Allergy Amulet is a rapid, portable, point-of-consumption food allergen and ingredient detection device that connects to a patent-pending disposable test strip.
GoSun Stove (Cincinnati, OH)
https://www.facebook.com/techcomedia/videos/10154947311141778/
GoSun Stove is breakthrough solar technology that cooks like an oven. GoSun is making outdoor cooking easier, cleaner and more accessible around the world.
Oska Wellness (Carlsbad, CA)
https://www.facebook.com/techcomedia/videos/10154947343881778/
Oska Wellness is a new health-tech, wearable pain relief device that can help areas of the body prone to injury and degeneration.
Pilotly (Oakland, CA)
https://www.facebook.com/techcomedia/videos/10154947381571778/
Pilotly is the consumer insights platform that enables content creators to get feedback from target audiences anywhere in the world.
Unbound (New York, NY)
https://www.facebook.com/techcomedia/videos/10154947413231778/
Unbound is the empowering sexual wellness brand for women by women. The ecommerce company is differentiated by focusing on product curation, engaging content, and an exceptional customer experience, all delivered in the guise of a contemporary beauty brand driven by feminist ethos.