The finalists were selected from around the world to participate in the competition and each received one-on-one coaching from mentors to refine their presentations in preparation for the competition. Judges evaluated the 4-minute pitches with Realty Mogul coming out on top. Realty Mogul is a marketplace for accredited investors to pool money online and buy shares of real property like office buildings, apartment buildings and retail centers. They are based in Beverly Hills, CA and will receive a prize package that includes hosting services, investor meetings, media exposure, office space, consultations, and mentoring.

Second place went to Houston-based Molecule Software, makers of light, fast, and easy-to-use energy risk software and third was Taskbox, a company based in Austin that has developed a mobile email application that allows you to clear a full inbox in less than 60 seconds, while simultaneously creating a prioritized task list of all of the items that need additional follow-up. Two additional prizes were awarded based on crowd participation via text voting. The Audience Favorite based on votes in the room went to TaskBox. The Social Favorite went to Lynx Laboratories for generating the most buzz on their social media channels during the event.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to our judges and sponsors! We truly enjoyed meeting you and your teams and wish you the best! Keep in touch! For more information about the winning companies, their prizes, or HATCH, please visit www.hatchpitch.com.

The post HATCH 2013 Winners Announced! appeared first on Hatch Pitch.

• Future Ad Labs: Text FALSocial to 63566
• GeriJoy: Text GeriJoySocial to 63566
• Ginkgotree, Inc.: Text GinkGoSocial to 63566
• Lynx Laboratories: Text LynxSocial to 63566
• MobileX Labs: Text MobileLabsSocial to 63566
• Molecule: Text MoleculeSocial to 63566
• Pervasive Group Inc.: Text PervasiveSocial to 63566
• Realty Mogul: Text RealtyMogulSocial to 63566
• SnapHealth: Text SnapHealthSocial to 63566
• Socedo: Text SocedoSocial to 63566
• Taskbox: Text TaskboxSocial to 63566

Visit the HATCH Event Day Voting page for additional details.

The post Announcing the HATCH Social Media Reach Award appeared first on Hatch Pitch.

The day we’ve all been waiting for is (almost) here. HATCH is tomorrow! We’re so excited to see the pitches, hear from our judges, and award some great prizes! Here’s a quick run-down of the schedule – and don’t forget to change your clock tonight!

9:30am Session 1: Pitches from 4 companies
10:30am  Networking Break
11:00am Session 2: Pitches from 5 companies
12:00pm Networking Break
12:30pm Session 3: Pitches from 3 companies followed by score tallying, display of the winning videos in the Qukku – “Are You Hatch-worthy” contest, and then the awards presentation.
1:30pm Official Close – but there will be some additional networking afterward.

Panel Speaker Judges: John Frankel, Joel Yarmon, Marc Weizer, Rahul Sood, Kerry Rupp, Nate Gross

Judges: Nicole Glaros, Balaji Gopinath, Aziz Gilani, Rami Essaid, Don Dodge

Best of luck to our teams and a special thanks to Missy Krasner, Executive in Residence, Morgenthaler Ventures, who will serve as our emcee tomorrow.

If you’ll be joining us in person, HATCH is part of SXSW’s Startup Village in the Hilton Austin Downtown, 500 East 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701. The event will be in Salon D. If you can’t be with us live, be sure to follow us on Twitter via @HATCHpitch and #HATCHsxsw to keep up throughout the day and stay tuned to this blog and elsewhere when we announce our winners!

The post Tomorrow’s the Big Day! appeared first on Hatch Pitch.

• How revolutionary is the idea? What impact will it make on the world?
• What’s the product? What problem does it solve and for whom?
• What’s the market?
• What’s great about the startup founders and team?

Our selection committee had a tough task narrowing down to 12 finalists and were impressed with the quality of applications received. We’d like to thank everyone for applying and wish the best to all companies, regardless of HATCH status!

Without further ado, here are the companies who will be presenting 4 minute pitches to our great judges on HATCH day:

• Future Ad Labs
• GeriJoy Inc.
• Ginkgotree, Inc.
• Lynx Laboratories
• MobileX Labs
• Molecule
• Pervasive Group Inc.
• Reactor Labs
• Realty Mogul
• SnapHealth
• Socedo
• Taskbox

Congratulations to our finalists! More information about each company can be found at www.hatchpitch.com/startups. We’re looking forward to working with each team in the next week or so to prepare the best pitches possible. To see the final product, join us at HATCH 2013 – Sunday, March 10, 2013 starting at 9:30am at the Hilton Downtown Austin.

The post 2013 HATCH Finalists Announced! appeared first on Hatch Pitch.

When asked what he could do over, Leber said “Do something different. Do remarkable stuff.” He said all the startups at pitching competitions had matching T-shirts and business cards, but he wanted to do something that would make him stand out, and he gave that advice to the 2013 startups.

Kopser said watching the startups at the 2012 HATCH competition last year made him nervous.

“All the companies sounded so great,” he said. Thankfully, he had his team to remind him why RideScout was there, and prevented him from psyching himself out. Kopser’s startup finished in 2nd place at the inaugural competition.

Kopser and Leber highlighted the importance of public speaking skills for pitching competitions. They emphasized to attendees that the time they gave their pitch was just as important as the time they gave their startup.

‘ @hankleber toured in a rock band and says pitches are similar because you have to “sell the dream. You have to nail it!” #HATCHsxsw

— HATCH (@HATCHPITCH) February 22, 2013

Make your pitch like your favorite song. Know it so you can sing along no problem! @hankleber

— HATCH (@HATCHPITCH) February 22, 2013

Kopser also had good advice regarding the presentations at pitch competitions.

You have to get somebody better than you to work on your stuff. If you think you’re the best, you already have a problem. @josephkopser

— HATCH (@HATCHPITCH) February 22, 2013

Leber said building relationships at HATCH one of the best parts of the competition. HATCH Founder, Greg Wright, chimed in and said “Try to meet every single person in the room.”

Big thanks to Joseph and Hank for providing the HATCH community with great tips and stories.

HATCH live-tweeted the Hangout. Check out @HATCHPITCH to see more insight from former HATCH finalists. For future Hangouts and events, visit the HATCH calendar.

The post Recap of Today’s Google+ Hangout with Joseph Kopser, Founder/CEO of RideScout, and Hank Leber, Founder/CEO of GonnaBe appeared first on Hatch Pitch.

Preparing your startup for SXSW? Below is advice from Joseph Kopser, CEO and Co-founder of RideScout. For more, join Joseph and other HATCH members for a Google+ Hangout on February 22.

GoingMyWay, now RideScout took second place at the Hatch Pitch competition in 2012. Largely because of the attention and credibility gained through our Hatch experience, the next month we secured seed funding to accelerate the development of our mobile app. RideScout is a mobile smartphone application that aggregates ground transportation ride options to allow users to compare and book or link to them in real time. Our goal is to provide ground transportation information and connectivity so intuitively and efficiently that consumers experience the same on-demand flexibility and reliability that they do driving their own car.

The Hatch Pitch experience itself was both nerve racking and very exciting. There were hundreds of people in the room as well as a panel of hugely successful experts that know their world. Waiting for my turn was the longest part. As I sat through each pitch I thought, “Wow. That is a great company.  That is a great idea. That is a great team.”  But in the end, you would not have been selected as a finalist if you did not have a chance as well. When it was all said and done, the important piece is to relax, be honest with yourself and the audience and try to tell your story with passion and a deep understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. Good luck and best of luck in your endeavor.

Your startup isn’t going to “accidentally” succeed. RideScout and my other endeavors get better each day because I’ve spent time learning from those around me. Most of that learning has been experiential and in the shadow of others, so it is only natural that I try to pass it along. People will be what they can see– and I have been fortunate to learn from a lot of different people in the start-up ecosystem.

As a co-founder of a startup, you’ll be offered advice from a great deal of people, pamphlets, seminars, and conferences. However, the most valuable way for you to learn is by surrounding yourself with successful people. A good idea or product will only get you so far. Focus on people first, and then ask yourself, what do you hope to do next?  Don’t be afraid to bring on people that see the future in a slightly different way than you do.  When you have that creative friction and diversity of opinions, the product and service improves.

The post SXSW and Startup Advice from Joseph Kopser of RideScout appeared first on Hatch Pitch.