GROW UTAH VENTURES ANNOUNCES GRAND PRIZE AND TWO RUNNER-UP WINNERS IN
THE DIGITAL MEDIA “CONCEPT TO COMPANY” CONTEST
– Winners Received $50,000 in Cash and Services to Further Their Businesses –
SALT LAKE CITY, April 11, 2012 – Grow Utah Ventures is pleased to announce Sand Mountain Studios as the 2012 Grand Prize Winner of their Digital Media “Concept to Company” contest.
Sand Mountain Studios has developed SloPro, a one-of-a-kind mobile application that allows the iPhone to capture video faster than its normal frame rate and then to slow it down for HD slow-motion filming.
As the grand prize winner, Sand Mountain Studios received $10,000 from Grow Utah Ventures and the Digital Media UCAP Consortium. They also received valuable in-kind service prizes from the major contest sponsors, including: Grant Thornton (financial management services), Thorpe North and Western (IP legal services), and Bennett Tueller Johnson (general legal services). These service providers strongly believe in the goal of the contest, which is to assist entrepreneurs through real money, real services and real help.
MobileIgniter and ForeUP were announced as the two runners up in the contest each received $5,000 in cash and $5000 in in-kind services and mentoring to further their businesses, as well as.
MobileIgniter – MobileIgniter is a mobile software platform quickly enabling organizations to create inexpensive mobile applications through a drag & drop interface.
ForeUP – ForeUP has created a Cloud management software for golf course operators that allows golfers full access to course’s perishable tee time inventory and provides an online marketplace where golfers can schedule tee times, and find perishing times at a discount.
“This year’s winners were some of the best early stage startups we’ve seen in this industry”, said T. Craig Bott, President and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures. “It seems that the contestants just keep getting better and better- which validates the idea that Utah is developing stronger entrepreneurs whose ideas are very well thought out.”
These three winners were part of an original group of nine finalists that presented their business ideas to judges and industry experts in a private day of judging on March 30th at Utah Valley University.
Sand Mountain Studios, Mobile Igniter and ForeUP were chosen as the top three winners on the judging day; however the grand prize winner was not announced until a few days later at the CrowdPitch event, also held on the campus of Utah Valley University.
CrowdPitch events are a way for the public to get involved with the Concept to Company contests and bring exposure to the winners. In a highly entertaining mini-reality show format, the top three entrepreneurs pitched their ideas again to the industry experts and investors, however, this time in front of the general audience. This provided a unique opportunity for the audience to observe the decision making process that goes into investing in a business and to share the passion and excitement of business creation.
The three selected entrepreneurs were given four minutes to pitch their company to both the panel of experts and a live audience, followed by a three-minute Q&A session with the audience. Afterwards, the experts offer constructive feedback for the entrepreneurs and audience members got to vote on their favorite.
“The CrowdPitch event was a fun way for the general audience to see what it takes to pitch to investors, judges, and anyone you’re trying to sell your idea to”, said Steve Roy, Associate VP of Economic Development at the UVU Business Resource Center. “The participation was tremendous and there were some great advice given from the experts to the audience- the kind of advice you don’t find in books. It was very worthwhile.”
At the conclusion of the CrowdPitch event, the grand prize winner was then revealed, as well as the audience favorite, which was ForeUp. Prizes and awards were then given to the winners.
Grow Utah Ventures received over 60 entries for this Digital Media “Concept to Company” Contest. This was the 16th contest held across the state over the last three years. Each contest focuses on a specific industry that matches the unique entrepreneurial strength of that region. The Digital Media Concept to Company contest focused specifically on computer animation, gaming, graphics, media technology and mobile device applications. Contests focusing on consumer products and general technology are also underway. For more information, visit: www.ConceptToCompany.org
About Grow Utah Ventures
Grow Utah Ventures, is a privately funded non-profit organization dedicated to accelerate the creation of innovative, entrepreneur-led, high-growth businesses that will strengthen and expand the future growth of Utah’s economy.
The vision of Grow Utah Ventures is to create a robust entrepreneurial eco-system in Utah that fosters entrepreneurial talent, drives innovation to solve market needs, aligns community resources and support, and ensures funding for products, entrepreneurs and businesses of promise.
Comprised of a team of successful and experienced entrepreneurs, business leaders and private investors, Grow Utah Ventures accomplishes its mission by leading initiatives that fill critical gaps needed for economic and entrepreneurial expansion and encourage others to do the same. As such, Grow Utah Ventures serve as a catalyst to form new partnerships, develop innovative solutions, and capture breaking opportunities that will solve our economic issues today and ensure a sound foundation for our future economy.
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PR Contacts:
Justin Bott
Grow Utah Ventures
(801) 593-2269
press@growutahventures.com
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