Innovate!2010 - Global Competition to Identify the 100 Most Promising Technology Start-ups

SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Guidewire Group, the world's leading analyst firm focused exclusively on startups and emerging markets, has launched a global competition called Innovate!2010 to identify and promote a group of 100 top technology start-ups from around the world. The winners will form the Innovate!100 – an elite listing of start-ups poised to receive global recognition and validation.  

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Innovate!2010 comprises over 20 regional 'Pitch Slam' events in Europe and the US where start-ups present, members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem gather, and local players are connected to industry leading technology vendors, customers and investors, like Best Buy, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, O2, RIM, Sun, SWIFT, who leverage Innovate!2010 to help them more quickly identify and  partner with startups.

At each Pitch Slam, start-ups are evaluated by a panel of expert judges using the G/Score, Guidewire Group's market leading assessment methodology, which has been proven as a reliable predictor of start-ups market success & business viability - including opportunity, execution, team and business model.  

Applications seeking start-up entrants, judges, partners and sponsors for the competition are now being accepted through March 2010. Pitch slams in Europe will take place beginning in March across more than 10 cities including Dublin, London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Helsinki, and more.  The full schedule and further info on the Innovate!2010 program can be found at www.innovate100.com

Participating start-ups in Innovate!2010 will receive a number of benefits including:

• The opportunity to compete for cash and prizes valued over $100,000 from Microsoft, SWIFT, Guidewire Group and others
• A G/Score – based on a standardized, scalable methodology for assessing start-ups
• Coverage in some of the world's most influential business and technology media
• Incisive feedback from select investors, technology executives and successful entrepreneurs
• Qualified introductions to world-class partners and investors

About Innovate!2010

Innovate! is an is an annual program to identify and promote the top 100 global technology start-ups. The program enables the most promising start-ups to gain access to resources and opportunities to accelerate the growth of their companies. Innovate!2010 also enables its partners which includes technology and telecommunications vendors, government agencies, professional services providers and technology scouts to engage thousands of start-up professionals around the world, engage hundreds of highly vetted, fast-growing startups face-to-face, and raise their brand profile in the global start-up community.  Innovate!2010 sponsors and partners currently include Ballou PR, BestBuy, Comunicano, HP, HSBC, Microsoft, Hearst New Media, Milsal & Associates, Motorola, O2 Litmus, Quickstart Global, RIM, RougeFrog, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Sony, Swift, Verizon, and Zaragoza; European and US economic development agencies, and leading angel and venture capital investors.

About Guidewire Group, Inc.  

Guidewire Group is a global market intelligence and advisory firm passionate about technology entrepreneurship. Our exclusive focus on early-stage companies and emerging technology markets drives insight and opportunity to our clients and community. At the heart of our offerings is the G/Score™, a proprietary assessment tool that brings clarity and focus to the art of transforming ideas into successful enterprises.  Developed over the course of more than 20,000 startup interviews, the G/Score has proven a reliable predictor of start-up viability and promise. Our G/Score data helps technology investors, customers and platform vendors rapidly qualify and respond to startup deal flow from even thousands of startups.  Our G/Score Assessment Tools help startups, investors, service providers and government agencies to identify and benchmark competitive strengths and weaknesses. And our Studio G business acceleration programs helps startups achieve their growth objectives with clarity of purpose, speed and efficiency.

SOURCE Guidewire Group, Inc.