It’s that time of year again. I continue to be on the advisory board of the SXSW Pitch challenge and now its sister-challenge: The SXSW V2Venture pitch event. This is an opportunity to “showcase your emerging technology product or service in front of industry leaders… This event takes place on July 21 & 22 as a part of the SXSW V2V Event, during which you can improve your product launch, attract venture capitalists, polish your elevator pitch, receive media exposure, build brand awareness, network, socialize and experience all that SXSW V2V has to offer. The deadline to register is Friday, May 1, 2015, so visit http://sxswv2v.com/venture to enter today.”
Some information from the organizers
1) Launch date eligibility requirements:
- A company’s product / service must have launched no earlier than July 22, 2015
- A company’s product / service must not be launched after October 21, 2016.
- Companies will be allowed to submit only one product or service to the SXSW V2Venture.
- Companies who submit more than one product or service will not be eligible to participate in the SXSW V2Venture.
- Founders of the applying startup must retain some portion of ownership in the company to be eligible to participate.
- Must not have raised over five million in funds from combined funding sources.
- Product or service must fall within one of the SXSW V2Venture categories.
- Companies cannot have presented in any of the following events as a finalist: SXSW Accelerator, SXSW ECO Startup Showcase or LAUNCHedu pitch events.
2) Applicants must be within one of the five categories:
- Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies
The Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies category encompasses applications and technologies that facilitate comprehension and application of information. These startups seek to improve productivity and management of data, analytics, text, documents, and engagement for business and individual use. - Entertainment and Content Technologies
The Entertainment and Content Technologies category highlights applications and technologies for gaming, music, film, television, video, news and publishing, streaming and digital storytelling, as well as new and hybrid forms of entertainment. These are reinventing the ways in which we learn, relax and enjoy our time. This category also contains technologies that focus on other cultural sectors such as sports, travel, mapping, publishing and food as they pertain to entertainment. - Social Technologies
The Social Technologies category includes applications and technologies that enable personal connections. With this category we’re looking for new and interesting uses, cases, products and services, as well as messaging that push the boundaries of how we find, follow and share our lives with others. If your business or service has a social component but is primarily focused on Entertainment, Health or Wearable Technologies, then you should enter one of these other categories instead. - Health and Wearable Technologies
The Health and Wearable Technologies category focuses on patient-centric health applications and technologies that connect patients, families, physicians, pharmacists, care providers (hospitals, clinics) and benefit providers to share timely, relevant health data and drive better outcomes at affordable and sustainable cost levels.
- Innovative World Technologies
Any creative and innovative technology that does not fit in another category is encouraged to apply here. We are currently seeing lots of innovation in the Internet of Things, payments and virtual currencies, data security and privacy, transportation such as autonomous vehicles, energy, space, robotics, and artificial intelligence, If your business / service / application applies to one of these fields (or something not on this list that is even more ground-breaking), then this is your category.
3) Where can I get more information:
Visit the SXSW V2V website at http://sxswv2v.com/venture