Press Release
Womble Carlyle, Other Firms Initiate FastPitch, An Interactive Forum for Venture Capital Investors and Disruptive Technology Companies
May 5, 2010
TYSONS CORNER, VA—Joining forces with Grant Thornton and Square 1 Bank, Womble Carlyle’s Venture Capital Team has launched an innovative venture capital forum for the iPod generation.
Different from other investor events of this type, FastPitch is powered by Disruptathon, an innovative provider of interactive scoring technology. Each participating investor is issued an iPod Touch device for use during the event, preloaded with Distruptathon’s mobile software that enables real-time, interactive feedback on the presenting companies on topics such as strength of pitch, intellectual property, market size, management team and fundability.
“The ultimate goal of FastPitch is to create a vibrant ecosystem of growth and innovation that benefits the entire venture capital community dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions,” said Dean Rutley, a member of Womble Carlyle’s Venture Capital Team. “This information, shared individually with each presenting company and collectively with the venture capitalists and FastPitch sponsors, is a key ingredient in creating that vibrant ecosystem.”
“The ultimate goal of FastPitch is to create a vibrant ecosystem of growth and innovation that benefits the entire venture capital community dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions,” said Dean Rutley, a member of Womble Carlyle’s Venture Capital Team. “This information, shared individually with each presenting company and collectively with the venture capitalists and FastPitch sponsors, is a key ingredient in creating that vibrant ecosystem.”
The inaugural FastPitch: Venture Capital Forum lunchtime event took place on April 28th at Womble Carlyle’s Tysons Corner, Virginia office. The event showcased promising technology companies from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. representing a wide range of industries including healthcare IT, green energy, sports and entertainment and online transaction authentication, in a quick-moving, interactive format. Each of the six presenting companies delivered eight minute pitches to an exclusive group of potential investors.
“Busy investors don’t have time to sit through drawn-out, dry presentations,” said Sanjay Beri, a member of Womble Carlyle’s Technology Transactions/Venture Capital Team. “At FastPitch, these companies have to bring their ‘A’ game to impress potential investors in this quick-paced format, which they accomplished. We were pleased to introduce the VCs in attendance to a disruptive group of tech companies from very diverse industries hailing from New Jersey through the Carolinas.”
The presenting companies included: Trusted – Reston, VA; Axial Exchange – Raleigh, NC; StatSheet, Inc. – Raleigh-Durham, NC; WhiteOptics, LLC – Newark, DE; Global Emissions Exchange – Closter, NJ; Spotlight Ticket Management Solution – Falls Church, VA.
For more information, please contact Katie Tedrow at (202) 857-4502 or via email.
Save-the-Date for our next FastPitch: Venture Capital Forum - September 23, 2010. For more information and to receive updates on the next event, please email us at fastpitch@wcsr.com.