Our Startup of the Year pitch competition is one of the biggest cornerstones of the Tech Cocktail Celebrate Conference, and there’s no denying it: our attendees go absolutely crazy over it. We’re only a mere hour away from finding out who the winner is and what prizes they’ll get, but first we need to hear them pitch to our judges.
Blendoor (New York)
Blendoor is a mobile job matching app that helps connect tech companies to qualified women, veteran, and underrepresented minority candidates. It’s an important platform given that about 25 percent of tech is female and an even smaller 6 percent is African America. The claim is that there’s not enough underserved talent in the pipeline. With Blendoor, all you need is one swipe to screen potential candidates and job seekers can vet relevant opportunities.
HedgeChatter (Dallas)
Hedgechatter is a software service that brings forward the social chatter online for investors to use as an indicator for stock options. Years ago the cofounders of HedgeChatter tried their hand at the stock market and didn’t do so well. The problem was that there was so much information out there via blogs, social media, and news articles. Before Hedgechatter, no one placed the vast pool of information found online in one place. Everything the team does is all about seeing the market and what the market does. Set out to build HedgeChatter. what they do from previous article
LiveAnswer (Miami)
LiveAnswer is the next evolution of customer communication. All you need to use the service is one snippet of code that unifies all your communication channels across social media, messaging, texting, emailing, and phone calls. Bluntly speaking, the team thinks that the way businesses communicate with their customers sucks. They think LiveAnswer is the perfect solution to change the paradigm.
Sunport (Albuquerque)
SunPort is a small plug adapter that lets you plug into solar power everywhere you go. No panels required, because sometimes people physically can’t install panels or simply don’t like the aesthetic. This “wearable tech for power cords” measures the electricity you take from any outlet and automatically upgrades it to solar using solar credits, similar to how big companies have been upgrading to clean energy for years. Inside is a utility grade power meter that matches your energy usage with a solar farm in the country, and it can be used on any plug in the US.
TurboAppeal (Chicago)
TurboAppeal uses its technology to give property owners a simple and cost effective solution to reduce property tax costs and increase the chances of a successful property tax appeal. As the team says, they’re the LegalZoom for property taxes. They charge 30 percent of the first year’s savings for Single Family Homes, with other pricing on other property types. Property taxes are the largest single tax in Illinois and everyone is affected by property taxes. Currently they only cater to Chicago area residents but are looking to expand.
Who will win? Stay tuned to find out – the announcement is coming soon!
On October 4-6, Tech Cocktail Celebrate Conference is gathering hundreds of attendees, industry leaders, and inspiring speakers in downtown Vegas to meet the hottest startups and investors from around the country, learn and collaborate with others turning their communities into startup cities, and enjoy music, parties, and llama spotting. Check out more Tech Cocktail Celebrate Conference coverage here.