Pajama Entrepreneur

The Guidewire Group, an analyst firm that focuses on startups and emerging markets, has launched a global competition to identify the top 100 technology startups around the world through its Innovate!2010 program.

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, and many more. It’s an excellent way for tech entrepreneurs to meet and network, and to gain exposure for their products and services.

How does the Pitch Slam work?

At each Pitch Slam, a panel of expert judges evaluates a startup using the G/Score, Guidewire Group’s assessment methodology, which Guidewire claims to be a reliable predictor of a startup’s market success and business viability, including opportunity, execution, team and business model.

If you want to participate in the competition, apply now (25 percent discount using this code: MAP2010). 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 first event will be in Barcelona on 1 March 2010 Paris in March 2010. Pitch Slams in the US take place between May and July, 2010. The full schedule of 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; and
• Qualified introductions to world-class partners and investors.

Innovate!2010 events are not just for entrepreneurs. It’s a great place for angel investors, venture capital firms, tech journalists and analysts to meet people who are at the cutting edge of technology and are too often ignored by the Silicon Valley-centric press.

Q&A with Mike Sigal, co-founder of the Guidewire Group

(1) Who is behind Innovate100?

Guidewire Group is the producer, but the program has the support of dozens of technology vendors, customers, carriers, investors, and government agencies.

(2) Who are the founders of the Guidewire Group?

Chris Shipley and myself. We have produced DEMO in the past.

(3) Why do you think there’s a need for Innovate 100? How are you different from other startup competitions?

Most programs that already exist because of their location or their organizers, tend to be biased towards Silicon Valley based companies, or companies that are part of the “in crowd”. They are also expensive to participate in (both for the startups and the attendees) in terms of travel, exhibition space, and/or attendee fees, etc. This is even worse in the current economic climate. So, ultimately this means that many great companies (and participants) are excluded from the visibility and connections that such startup event and media programs can provide.

And unlike other events, we have included several innovative features:

(a) Innovate! leverages a group of expert judges who have been trained in using our G/Score Assessment Methodology. This means that the ranking is completely transparent which is a huge departure from any other program. This provides not just an evaluation, but a diagnosis of a startup’s strengths and opportunities to improve uts competitiveness. There is a great overview of the G/Score here: http://www.innovate100.com/sponsors/guidewire-group/

(b) Innovate! is distributed. This means the program will find great startups wherever they live, not just in Silicon Valley, and connect those startups with investors, partners and customers all over the world. Rather than a single expensive gathering that everyone has to travel to, there will be Pitch Slams in more than 20 cities. See http://www.innovate100.com/program/pitch-slams/. The finalists are promoted online via media partners (for exposure) and to our Validation Partners (for direct connections to potential investors, customers and partners). It’s a much more efficient and scalable model for both startups and the professionals that want to engage with startups, which is why we’ve had such extraordinary support from large organizations that want to reach and support LOTS of startups, not just a couple they invest in.

(c) Finally, there are the Challenges. Many larger organizations are leveraging the Innovate! program to identify and engage startups that are right for their particular requirements or interests. This means a kind of a one-stop shop for startups to participate in several sponsored challenges (see the Challenge block on the home page). The challenge prizes include:

• year-long membership in a business accelerator program
• free match-making services with our Validation Partners
• cash from Microsoft Azure and others
• the opportunity to pitch your startup to 8500 bankers (SWIFT Challenge…really cool!)

And by the end of the week, we will announce a challenge for $1M in technology development services

(4) Aside from startups, who should attend the Pitch Slams?

Other entrepreneurs, angels and VCs, technology scouts, business and corporate development professionals, technology analysts and journalists.

(5) How much does it cost to participate in the Pitch Slams?

There is a $75 application fee, but no other fee to participate. This is used primarily to make sure applicants are serious about competing. All applicants receive:

• 2 Pitch Slam tickets (a $100 value)
• free online pitch training to make sure they know how the scoring works and they put their best foot forward
• free promotion to local journalists and through a network of more than 5000 news website.

Special 25 percent discount for Pajama Entrepreneur readers

Innovate!2010 is giving Pajama Entrepreneur readers a 25% discount on the Pitch Slam registration fee (so, with the discount it costs only $50 in the US and 40 Euros in Europe). Follow the registration links from the Pitch Slam page and use the Discount Code: MAP2010.