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SWSWi 2013: Startups to Compete for Hearts, Minds, and Investor Dollars

Written on
Mar 6, 2013 
Author
Mike Daly  |

Twelve startups will each get four minutes to pitch their business plans to a panel of corporate, angel, and venture investor judges at SXSW Interactive Startup Village on Sunday, March 10.
The HATCH 2013 competition will take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown in Austin, TX. The 12 finalists, chosen from around the globe to participate, will compete to win prizes and gain recognition to take their startup to the next stage. 

Applicants were evaluated based on factors such as:
  • How revolutionary is the idea? What impact will it make on the world?
  • What’s the product? What problem does it solve and for whom?
  • What’s the market?
  • What’s great about the startup founders and team?
“Our selection committee had a tough task narrowing down to 12 finalists and were impressed with the quality of applications received,” said a HATCH spokesperson.
Each company’s team will receive one-on-one coaching from mentors to refine their presentations in preparation for the competition. The judges will determine in which companies they would invest their virtual $1M. Last year’s winner, Distil, announced a substantial seed investment led by HATCH judge John Frankel of ff Venture Capital, according to Houston Technology Center press release.

The competing startups are:

Among the judges for the competition are Nate Gross, Co-Founder, Doximity & Rock Health; John Frankel, Partner, ff Venture Capital; Ken Jones, Associate Director, University of Houston; Kerry Rupp, Managing Partner, DreamIt Ventures; Rahul Sood, General Manager, Bing Fund at Microsoft; Marc Weiser, Founder and Managing Director, RPM Ventures; and Joel Yarmon, Investor, Draper Associates.





Mike Daly is an award-winning writer and editor with 30 years of experience in publishing. He began his career in 1983 at The News of Paterson, N.J., a long-since defunct daily paper, where at age 22 he was promoted to the position of Editorial Page Editor. Since then he has served in managerial capacities with several news organizations, including Arts Weekly Inc. and North Jersey Media Group in New Jersey and Examiner Media in New York. His work has been honored on numerous occasions by the New Jersey Press Association and the Society for Professional Journalists.

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