Technology Startups Compete to Earn $150,000 in Chicago Event

CHICAGO, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Over $150,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the five best technology startups at midVenturesLAUNCH, the largest startup and innovation conference in the Midwest. The conference, founded by local venture consulting firm midVentures, runs through Tuesday, September 28, with events including workshops, panels and keynotes by the founders of hot tech firms Groupon, Reddit and ChaCha.  

The five winners will split over $150,000 in cash and services from conference sponsors, including  six months of free office space at the new Sync Technology Center run by technology incubator firm Syncubator. 'The Sync' is an 18,000-square-foot facility in the West Loop that provides office space and mentoring services for local technology startups to work, network and connect with the resources they need to grow.

More than 100 startups and established companies will demo their products and services at the conference, which is expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees including venture capitalists and investors. There will also be more than 60 speakers and panelists, including the founders of OpenTable, OkCupid and Feedburner.  

Conference highlights include:

• COMPETE: 25 hand-picked startups less than three years old and with under $2 million in funding will compete to win over $150,000 in cash and services from conference sponsors.  
• LAUNCH: each of 15 companies will get three minutes on stage to jumpstart products or services they introduced in 2010 by presenting them to industry professionals, bloggers, media and fellow entrepreneurs.
• mVDEMO: a convention-style exhibition where early-stage startup companies can showcase their wares in an effort to attract interest from fellow entrepreneurs and potential investors.
• Keynotes from Groupon, Reddit and ChaCha principals: Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell will talk about building a startup company in the Midwest; Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman will address his experiences at startup incubator Y Combinator, selling Reddit and starting over with new flight search startup company Hipmunk; and ChaCha co-founder Scott A. Jones will discuss the evolution of his mobile search engine business. Live streaming site Ustream will carry all three keynote addresses live on the Internet.

All September 28 events will take place at UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road.

A VC/Investor Breakfast will also be held Tuesday morning, along with two nights of drinks, music and networking at the official midVenturesLAUNCH after parties.

"We've brought the best and brightest minds to Chicago for a new kind of event for the Midwest," said Jonathan Pasky, co-founder of midVenturesLAUNCH.  "We have the founders of Silicon Valley tech startups and experts from over 28 states and six countries participating.  We'll have thousands of industry leaders, investors, media and entrepreneurs all in one space talking technology entrepreneurship."  

Conference passes are $50.  Register to attend at http://www.midventureslaunch.com and follow conference updates through Twitter: @midventures and #mVLAUNCH.  For sponsor, press and other inquiries, please contact the midVenturesLAUNCH team at [email protected].

About midVentures

midVentures is a technology and venture consulting firm providing rapid lifecycle web development and incubator services to high-growth technology startups and ideas.  More information about midVentures can be found at http://www.midventures.com.

SOURCE midVentures