On August 20, 2009, the DC startup community hosted 10 early-stage start-ups companies presenting to a handpicked group of 200 attendees including the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading investors, startup executives, engineers, designers, startup industry professionals, bloggers and press. The crowd also included representatives from Ashoka, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, The DC Office of Economic Development, Department of Defense, Grotech Ventures, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, The Obama Administration, Sunlight Foundation, Valhalla Partners, The Washington Post, ThrillList and TechCrunch.
The 10 early-stage start-ups who launched at Social Matchbox Summer Social 2009 (www.socialmatchbox.com) were selected from a pool of 50 applicants. They included the top emerging companies in Mobile Applications, Energy Efficiency & Green Applications, Gaming, Web 2.0 Personal Publishing Applications, Online Collaboration, Government 2.0, Email Visualization & Productivity, Philanthropic Analytics and Human Capital Management.
After presentations ended, the audience acted as virtual investors by wisely investing their “Social MatchBUCKS” in appealing companies. At the event reception, the Community Choice Award winner was revealed: Earth Aid Enterprises (www.earthaid.net). Earth Aid Enterprises is the first company to receive the Social Matchbox Community Choice Award. The award is a high honor representing a vote of confidence from the Mid Atlantic’s leading investors, startup executives, engineers, designers, startup industry professionals, bloggers and members of the press. The Social Matchbox Sticky Pick award went to unblab (www.unblab.com), a startup that helps people to navigate their inbox with style. This award is based on votes from the 10 person organizing team that puts on the event. Considerations for the Sticky Pick include product design and marketing elements. The full presenter list is available at http://www.socialmatchbox.com.
Sponsoring organizations wanted to express that their support of the Mid Atlantic startup community exists as much or more in 2009 as it did in 2007 and 2008. They included Grotech Ventures, staffmagnet, Cooley Godward Kronish, LLP, Boalt Interactive, Launchbox Digital, Network Solutions, intridea, R2intergrated, messagepub, Casey MultiMedia, FitFeud, Vlytics, Interactive Strategies, Legal River, WorthPoint, University of Maryland’s Dingman Center, American University’s Kogod School of Business University of Maryland’s Computer Science Department, Refresh DC, DCRUG, DC ACM, and E Street Cinema.
As emcee and co-producer, Juliana Neelbauer, announced to the audience, “Social Matchbox sponsors are not only asking for a seat at the table of the startup community, but by supporting events like Social Matchbox, they are helping to build that table.”