On Monday, Oct. 28, immediately following Startup Weekend, 16 companies will vie for the title of “Top Gun” at the 3rd Annual GAIN Investor Pitch ShootOut! at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida Cultural Plaza.
The ShootOut begins at 2 p.m. with educational panels open to the public and led by industry leaders who will address funding, marketing and services and support offered by four Gainesville business incubators.
Simultaneously, clusters of four competing companies will gather in four separate rooms, where each company will have an hour to present to experienced entrepreneurs, investors and experts who will give them suggestions for improvement and advice regarding other issues important to startups. These sessions are closed to the public.
Guests not participating in the presentations will have the opportunity to network with others in the startup community, interact with companies in the exhibit area and sit in on the educational panels.
Once all presentations are completed, the top four will be selected to participate in the ShootOut, where they will pitch to a panel of investors and experts from around the country, as well as the local innovation business community and other guests.
Following the final presentations, guests will enjoy cocktails and a sit-down dinner, sponsored by Cox Communications. Dinner will be highlighted by a keynote from internationally known author and one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior, John Spence. After dinner, the Top Gun will be announced.
This year, the Top Gun will receive more than $6,000 in cash and prizes, including:
- $2,500 in cash
- Legal services valued at $2,000 from the Archer Bay law firm
- Accounting services valued at $250 from Carr Riggs & Ingram
- Exhibit materials valued at $500 from Expo Source
- Hundreds of dollars in miscellaneous prizes
- A priceless Stetson hat
Admission for GAIN stakeholders is $40, and $50 for non-stakeholders. The general public is welcome and may attend the educational panels for a $10 admission fee, which does not include cocktails and dinner. Students may attend the daytime events for free, but must register online.
If you have any questions, please contact Lee May at [email protected] or visit GAINnet.org for more information and to purchase tickets. Sales end Oct. 21.
The 2013 ShootOut Contenders:
- Omninox
- Sport Odyssey
- Eight Technologies, LLC
- Shwrum
- iFishEarth
- Kinwa
- Quantitative Medicine
- Vehltor Florida, Inc
- XDG Technologies, LLC
- US Phytotherapy
- Sensory Integrated Solutions
- OwnForce
- GoJoe
- MyPayTube
- Paracosm
- Winner of the Startup Weekend
