SAN DIEGO, CA (PRWEB) OCTOBER 11, 2016
Tech Coast Angels (TCA), one of the largest and most active angel investor networks in the nation, announced 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competition winners immediately following live presentations at their popular Quick Pitch held on Oct. 6 at Qualcomm Hall. Ten finalists presented two-minute pitches to a blue ribbon panel of judges and an audience of 450+ leaders from the local, entrepreneurial eco-system during a sold out event that also featured locally sourced artisanal food and drink.
Southern California has become a hot bed of entrepreneurial activity with startups seeding local job development and stimulating mergers and acquisitions activities. “Our annual Quick Pitch competition is one of the most exciting entrepreneurial highlights of the year in San Diego,” said Sergio Gurrieri, President of the San Diego chapter of Tech Coast Angels. “It is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to network, learn and compete for investment capital that is crucial to early stage companies while cementing long-term relationships with various investors from our community.”
This year, Quick Pitch had a record breaking 140+ applications from a relatively young and diverse crowd of entrepreneurs, making it difficult to cull down to ten. The finalist’s pitches were judged on investment potential and presentation quality with ten experienced judges providing immediate feedback, “Shark Tank” style. But, the audience had the final say on who won using real-time polling with the winners announced at the conclusion of the competition. In a pre-taped message screened during the festivities, Mayor Faulconer thanked the Tech Coast Angels by highlighting the contributions to the local economy from the startup community.
After the event, Eugene Cho, CEO of 1st Place winner, Echo Labs, commented, “Echo Labs was honored to have the opportunity to compete in Quick Pitch amongst some of San Diego’s finest entrepreneurs. We would like to thank Tech Coast Angels for putting together a remarkable event that we will never forget.”
The 2016 Quick Pitch competition winners are:
1st Place – $15,000: Echo Labs, Eugene Cho
Echo Laboratories designs, develops and sells innovative microscopes. They’ve launched the Revolve – the world’s first hybrid microscope that converts between Upright and Inverted configurations, eliminating the need for labs to purchase two separate instruments. Eyepieces have been replaced with an iPad tablet to view and capture images. Users control the Revolve remotely, send data wirelessly, or directly upload their images to the cloud. http://www.echo-labs.com
2nd Place – $10,000: Braykion, Jon Wilensky, MD
Braykion helps hospitals solve the $40B problem of healthcare associated infections by providing an intuitive, low cost hand hygiene compliance and behavioral modification solution. The Braykion system leverages the latest machine learning and wearable technology to monitor, record, and remind health care workers when they need to wash, stopping the spread of these preventable infections. http://www.braykion.com
3rd Place – $5,000: PELV-ICE, Jill Bigelow
PELV-ICE is a medical device startup revolutionizing the standard of care for pelvic soft tissue trauma patients. PELV-ICE has created a new category of utility patented soft braces that uniquely support all sides of the pelvis with multi-directional and highly adjustable compression and removable ice/heat therapy anywhere you need it that are easy to use, discrete, highly effective and covered by insurance and Medicaid. PELV-ICE’s first brand, Mama Strut for maternity and postpartum recovery, is a game changer for new mamas by decreasing narcotics, and increasing mobility, mood, and birth satisfaction. http://www.mamastrut.com