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Startups put their best pitches forward at Zino Zillionaire event
Alerts.com founder Pascal Stolz pitches at the Zino forum in Seattle.
If there were one word to describe today's fourth annual Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum it would have to be diversity. The 28 presenting startup companies included a maker of hydrokinetic turbines (Hydrovolts); a developer of a new orange juice (VioVi); a nail parlor salon (Julep Nail Parlor); a maker of baby foods (Dr. Susanna's World Baby Foods); and a number of Internet-based startups. (TalentSpring, ValueAppeal and Cogi).
It is a good thing that the $100,000 in prize money is divided into two categories -- tech and non-tech. The judges are currently tallying the votes from audience members, with final deliberations to take place by the judges later this afternoon.
Entrepreneurs had five minutes to put their best foot forward, with some touting the market opportunity and growing sales.
"This year we will do about $150,000 in revenue, but that's not the real story," said Keith McCall, chief executive of Enroute Systems Corp., a provider of shipping logistics technologies. "This business is growing fast."
Microgreen's Tom Malone at the Zino forum.
Others touted the superiority of their technology. Microgreen Polymers CEO Tom Malone, whose plastics company recently secured a term sheet from a Fortune 500 company, was asked by an audience member whether there was any downside to the plastics technology.
To which Malone replied succinctly: "No."
Props helped out too. Sam Sudore, chief executive of Zero Crossing, maker of the nTune guitar and bass technology, appeared on stage with a guitar.
Sam Sudore of Zero Crossing
John Friess, co-founder of Journey Gym, showed off his new exercise equipment with a demonstration by one of his partners. And Giuseppe Mascarella, CEO of VioVi, waved around a box of orange juice in an enthusiastic presentation.
Now, some eager entrepreneurs are waiting to see if they made it into the final round. Stay tuned for more details.
UPDATE: Here are the six finalists from the event today.
Non-tech: Microgreen Polymers, Zero Crossing, Harbor Wing Technologies.
Tech: Giftango, Photon Machines, Enroute Systems.
The top finishers in the two categories will be chosen in October after research is completed on the finalists, with each receiving a $50,000 investment.
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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