Ten finalists selected to compete in final round of statewide Business Pitch Competition

Ten Business Pitch Competition finalists have been selected to pitch their company’s product or service to a panel of judges at the sixth annual Governor’s Conference on Business in Sparks on August 17.  Each of the finalists will have two minutes to make their pitch, followed by a three minute Q&A session with the judges.  

After the judges’ panel confers and the audience casts its vote for their favorite pitch, the first place, second place, and people’s choice winners will be announced at the conference luncheon. The winning competitors will take home awards from a pool of cash and services totaling $31,600 thanks to the generosity of sponsors AT&T, Microsoft, The Abbi Agency and VAST.

The finalists that were selected to compete at the Business Pitch Competition at the Governor’s Conference on Business include: 

Northern Nevada

·         AboveGeo (Reno) - an aerial services and data company that provides high-resolution geospatial data collection and analysis through leading edge drone and sensor technologies

·         Buzz.Tools (Reno) - a Software as a Service (SaaS) based group advocacy solution for businesses, charities, political causes or any group passionate about their ideas

·         Pb+J Collective (Reno) - a boutique nanny placement service that matches families and childcare providers based upon each individual’s needs

·         Talage Insurance (Reno) - provides a software based solution that enables the sale of commercial insurance policies from insurance carriers to small business owners through any digital channel, streamlining the process of comparison and purchase.

·         The Fernley Reporter (Fernley) - an online newspaper covering Fernley news, events and sports

·         TrenLot, Inc. (Reno) - offers automated workflow and project management software coupled with Internet of Things to the construction industry

Southern Nevada

·         Classes.Vegas (Las Vegas) - provides a one-stop solution for pre-employment services in the areas of CPR certification, lifeguard certification, alcohol awareness and fingerprinting required to obtain work cards

·         ClearSpace Aeronautics (Las Vegas) - offers complete drone traffic management for aircraft and cities using a patent-pending technology that facilitates safe drone flight

·         Comped Marketing (Las Vegas) - an advertising distribution platform powered by artificial intelligence that uses facial recognition, a camera and a digital screen to create customer-tailored ads for audiences within rideshare vehicles

·         StartUpNV (Las Vegas) - a business incubator that helps entrepreneurs and startup companies throughout the state

All qualified applications were evaluated by five judges independently to determine the ten finalists. The same five judges will convene as a panel on August 17 to evaluate the live pitches. Judges for the event include:  Mark Hutchison, Lieutenant Governor, State of Nevada; Tanya McCaffery, CEO, VAST; David Schmall, Business Sales Specialist, Microsoft; Stephanie Tyler, Nevada and Western Region President, AT&T; and Abbi Whitaker, President, The Abbi Agency. Sam Shad, veteran broadcaster and host of Nevada Newsmakers, will moderate the live pitch competition.

Admission to attend the Business Pitch Competition is included with a ticket to the Governor’s Conference on Business 2017. The conference takes place at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks from 7:30 am to 2:00 pm.  Tickets can be purchased online for $40 prior to August 15. The Business Pitch Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.  For more information about the conference, or to register to attend, visit http://business.nv.gov/GCB/Home.     

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