Startup America Regions Host Contest to Send Eight Lucky Startups to DEMO Fall 2012

Fall 2012 Winners from Across the Country Will Head to Premiere Silicon Valley Launch Event

On Wednesday, August 8th, the Startup America Regions http://www.s.co/regions/map unveiled a nationwide contest to send eight startup companies from across the country to launch at DEMO Fall 2012. Of the eight startups, four will receive space at the DEMO Fall 2012 Showcase Pavilion and four will present on the main stage, following in the footsteps of companies like E*TRADE, Salesforce and TiVo, who each debuted at DEMO. Twenty-six Regions from every corner of the U.S. will be able to host their own contests and submit their regional winners to a pool from which the DEMO team will select the overall winners.

"We’re incredibly excited to collaborate with DEMO and our regions to send startups to launch at this renowned event," said Scott Case, CEO, Startup America Partnership. "You only need to look at a list of DEMO alumni to see what a game-changer it is for any startup focused on growth." DEMO Fall 2012 provides a unique opportunity for Startup America members to pitch to hundreds of investors and journalists. DEMO is known as the launch pad for the newest technology trends, and 92 percent of companies that pitch at the event receive funding within nine months.

"The Startup America Regional contest will allow incredible companies that may not have had DEMO on their radar to compete with the most plugged-in Silicon Valley startups out there," said Neal Silverman, EVP and general manager at DEMO. "We can’t wait to review the submissions from startups headquartered in places like Tennessee, Texas and Iowa, all of which have robust startup ecosystems that people may not be aware of." The contest is only open to registered Startup America members http://www.s.co/get-registered?partnerSource=join .

At DEMO Spring 2012, Startup America members TourWrist http://tourwrist.com/ , ZBoard http://www.zboardshop.com/ , and Jumala http://www.jumala.com/vast all won DEMO God Awards, with TourWrist winning the grand prize: the People’s Choice Award. "TourWrist’s DEMO experience really highlights the best of our progressive, supportive society," said Charles Armstrong, founder and CEO of TourWrist. "From a DEMO presenting scholarship and support from Startup America to the audience-bestowed People’s Choice honor and IDG’s $1M media award, our humble startup has been given an incredible chance at success. All startups out there thinking about launching at DEMO should enter this contest immediately!"

The contest closes August 17th so we have a very short window to submit. For all submission information and contest details, please visit http://www.s.co/regions/demo2012. To submit your video entry to Wildfire just hit the http://www.StartUpMT.org site and click on the contest button at the top of the page!

Good Luck!

Bob Clay

[email protected]

StartUp Montana’s First Regional Champion