Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam Tour Continues in Search for Top 100 Tech Startups

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Produced by Guidewire Group, the leading analyst firm focused exclusively on startups and emerging markets, Innovate!2010 is a global program designed to identify and promote technology and communications startups via regional Pitch Slam events in cities around the world.

Any qualified startup can apply to the Innovate!2010 program, and a select group of companies chosen as semi-finalists will be invited to present at one of the Pitch Slams. The 100 most promising semi-finalists will then be named to the Innovate!100 list of top startups that will be released later this year.

Most recently, Innovate!2010 Pitch Slams were held in Columbia, Missouri on August 16th and in Seattle on August 17th. The Missouri Pitch Slam, produced in conjunction with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, featured CentraMart Services, CircLabs, DoctorOn, Michigan News Center, OMG Coupons and Relay, an online grocery service chosen by the judges as the winner of the Missouri Pitch Slam.

At the Seattle Pitch Slam, which took place at the pii2010 – privacy identity innovation conference, six startups faced off in a Quick Pitch competition before the semi-finalists delivered their presentations. The semi-finalists included Bynamite, IdeaScale, InternMatch (winner of the Quick Pitch round), Optify, Pathable, Tweetajob, Unvarnished and Yoursphere.

The Seattle judges' panel, comprised of Brady Forrest of O'Reilly Media, David Geller of Eyejot, Rebecca Lovell of Northwest Entrepreneur Network, Fran Maier of TRUSTe, Rob Monster of Epik.com, Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome and Sam Rosenbalm of Microsoft, evaluated the startups using Guidewire Group's proprietary G/Score™ assessment methodology and chose Optify as the winner of the Seattle Pitch Slam.

Applications are now being accepted from startups interested in participating in the upcoming Innovate!2010 Pitch Slams that Guidewire Group is hosting in Silicon Valley on September 21 and Los Angeles on September 28. There is no cost for startups to participate, and tickets to attend Innovate!2010 Pitch Slams start at $49. Additional events are scheduled for Austin, Texas on September 30, New York on October 5 and Boston on October 7.

More information about the program, including videos from prior Pitch Slam events, can be found at www.Innovate100.com.

Innovate!2010 sponsors and partners include leading organizations like Alacatel-Lucent, BestBuy, Cisco Systems, Comcast, DifferenceEngine, EMC, HP, HSBC, Hearst, IBM, LaPoste, LG Electronics, Microsoft, O2 Litmus, Oracle, PWC, Quickstart Global, PayPal, RIM, SAP, Silicon Valley Bank, Sony, SWIFT, Turner Broadcasting, Verizon, and the City of Zaragoza; as well as European and U.S. economic development agencies, and dozens of 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 to be a reliable predictor of startup 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.

For more information, contact Guidewire Group at [email protected].

SOURCE Guidewire Group, Inc.