It’s almost here: Celebrate 2015 is the time of year when we celebrate all things startup, which includes mentor sessions, inspiring keynotes, and workshops. Though, perhaps everybody’s favorite part of the conference is our Startup of the Year Competition.
Over the course of the entire year we’ve been hosting events in awesome tech ecosystems across Tampa, San Francisco, and Boston. We’ve been honored and excited to meet with the local community members, investors, and innovators who keep the wheels turning in each of their own cities. With all of these events comes a list of Celebrate 2015 semifinalists that won’t stop growing until they all journey to the Las Vegas desert from October 4-6.
All of the semifinalists who compete in our Startup of the Year Competition will be exposed to dozens of investors and hundreds of other startup enthusiasts and founders. Not to mention, all of the startups will be eligible for prizes and awards from some of the best in the biz: Tech Wildcatters, 500Startups, CEA, Crowdfunder, Techstars, and American Airlines, to name a few.
In the West of the US people have been betting big on the riches and bounty of the land. Countless moved to brighter pastures claiming manifest destiny, prospectors searched for gold, The Oregon Trail was a promise of a better tomorrow: the history is rich, the people who made it fearless and resilient.
That mentality has carried over to our modern day – Silicon Valley is booming, a new economy of legal cannabis is opening in Denver, and Tony Hsieh has built an oasis in the desert. The startups we found on our journey across the West are a product of their environment, and they’ll share their strength as each community carries its respective ecosystems towards the future.
So, who’s it going to be? Let us know which companies from the West US you like best.
Please note: Only your last vote will count, and results will not be displayed immediately as the voting period will remain open through August 31 at 12 Midnight EST and we will announce all of the winners on Tuesday, September 1!
Place Your Vote Online Now for the West’s Startup of the Year
Arizona
AutoKept: The team built AI technology to automatically log accounting events. Track your Money In, Money Out, and Mileage events by simply taking a picture, talking, and submitting.
EpiFinder, Inc.: They provide a proprietary clinical decision support software that helps doctors diagnose epilepsy syndromes at the point-of-care.
Colorado
GrowBuddy: A mobile app that helps cannabis growers produce better, safer, and more consistent plants through analytics for best gardening practices.
Karmies: They monetize emoticons by branding them and making them link to cool stuff, like secret self destructing pictures, websites, maps, and calendar invites.
Kloud View: It’s hard to track how much your business spends on cloud apps, so Kloud View discovers your apps and provides analytics for better visibility.
Idaho
Talloo: Talloo is a collaborative sales network that provides salespeople a conversational space to share leads, discover new connections and opportunities, and a powerful search engine that helps them recall important information in an instant.
Nevada
Tradeshow Casting: An online job marketplace for the trade show and event industry connecting companies, agencies, and talent directly.
YouStake, Inc.: An integrated sports staking platform that allows the masses to sponsor or stake players in live events. YouStake provides the technology platform needed for backers to invest in player entry fees, creates a real fantasy sports experience between fans and players through direct social interaction, and establishes a simple, secure, and transparent marketplace.
Northern California
People Spread: People Spread is an ad platform for startups to do influencer marketing without having to speak to anyone other than the influencers
RentalRoost: An online marketplace that helps users find a real estate that’s a perfect for their needs and lifestyle.
Southern California
Celluloid Film Discovery: Users can stream non-stop trailers and then discover where it is streaming: Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other online services.
CommuniGift:CommuniGift allows children, encouraged by their parents, to celebrate their own birthday by providing a special birthday experience for a child in need.
FixNix, Inc.: A platform built as a one stop shop GRC Platform that supports business-level management of enterprise Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC).
Picking Duck: An online marketplace for sports pick information that also allows anybody to make money selling their own sports knowledge.
Rydr: An iOS app that uses the Rydr API to get the cheapest and fastest ride for a user across all ridesharing apps.
Utah
Siok: They gamify and make standardized test prep into a competition.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
VOTING CLOSED!