Finalists are chosen for Tennessee Valley Venture Forum and ThrottleUp 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009 at 01:54PM Technology 2020 announces the finalists for the 2009 Tennessee Valley Venture Forum and ThrottleUp. Both events will be held October 22 the Innovation Imperative conference.
This is the 13th installment of the Tennessee Valley Venture Forum. The presenters include companies across the Innovation Valley and reach into North and South Carolina. “We are excited about quality and diversity of these companies” said John Morris, Executive Director of the Center For Entrepreneurial Growth and coordinator for this year’s event. Morris went on to say “These growth stage companies each have the opportunity to provide a significant contribution to our region. Many of them are raising their second and third rounds of equity capital.” The finalists for the 2009 Tennessee Valley Venture Forum are:
- Aldis - Oak Ridge
- Zipit-Greenville, SC
- Wazoo-London, KY
- Knetwits-Chattanooga, TN
- Signix-Chattanooga, TN
- FLS Energy-Asheville, NC
ThrottleUp 2009 is a pitch competition aimed at seed stage startups. Many of these companies are raising their first series of equity funding. This event is also being coordinated by the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth and is co-sponsored by OutOfTheGarage.com and Knoxville Overground. Shawn Carson, Director of Entrepreneurial Education said, “ ThrottleUp is in part a traditional pitch competition but it is also a great education platform for companies who are new to the process of raising equity based capital.” These presenters will also receive valuable feedback on their pitch from a stellar panel of judges during a Round Robin feedback session. “The Round Robin is a unique spin,” said Carson,” After their pitch, each CEO will sit with 6 pairs of judges who will evaluate their pitch and their value proposition. We think it will be fun and educational.” The finalists are all from the surrounding Knox Metro region and they are:
- TrakLok Corporation
- Simple Control Inc.
- InstallerPool.com
- OpenURmic
- MedInteract
- Orion Laboratories, LLC
Innovation Imperative is a three-day conference featuring national and regional leaders talking about entrepreneurship, innovation and economic trends. The event is scheduled for Oct. 20-22 at the Knoxville Convention Center.