Innovate!2010: Global Competition Identifies Top Technology Startups

Strategic Insights -

Guidewire Group's Innovate!2010 competition, a global search for the 100 most promising technology startups, concluded with a Pitch Slam event in Tel Aviv on April 12. The event evaluated semi-finalists using the company's proprietary assessment methodology, with a panel of expert judges including Kaushal Chokshi, Chairman and Founder of Quickstart Global, and Raya Volinsky, Business Development and ISV Group Lead at Microsoft.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Innovate!2010 competition received over 1,000 applications from startups worldwide.
  • The competition's proprietary assessment methodology, the G/Score, has proven to be a reliable predictor of startup viability and promise, with a success rate of 20,000 startup interviews.
  • The Pitch Slam event in Tel Aviv evaluated 12 semi-finalists, with Waze emerging as the winning startup, guaranteeing its spot on the prestigious Innovate!100 list.
  • The Innovate!2010 program enables the most promising startups to gain access to resources and opportunities to accelerate the growth of their companies.
  • The program also enables partners, including technology and telecommunications vendors, to identify and engage hundreds of highly vetted, fast-growing startups.

The full schedule, up-to-the-minute Pitch Slam news, and content, including videos from the event, can be found at the Innovate!2010 website.

Statistics:

  • Over 1,000 startups applied to the Innovate!2010 competition.
  • The G/Score has been used to evaluate over 20,000 startups.
  • The Innovate!100 list will feature the top 100 global technology startups.
  • The competition offers over $1M in Innovate! Challenge prizes of cash and in-kind awards.
  • The program has partners including Alacatel-Lucent, BestBuy, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Earl, HP, HSBC, IBM, LG Electronics, Microsoft, PWC, Quickstart Global, PayPal, RIM, SAP, Silicon Valley Bank, Sony, SWIFT, Turner Broadcasting, Verizon, and the City of Zaragoza.

Sources:

  • PR Newswire, April 19, 2009
  • Guidewire Group, Inc. website, Innovate!2010 section.