About

The Founder Showcase is a quarterly open start-up pitch and networking event that highlights seed- stage businesses, helping founders gain traction among the Silicon Valley elite. The event is hosted by TheFunded.com, a community of over 14,500 registered CEOs to rate sources of venture capital and discuss all things small business.

The Vision

Democratize Access to Silicon Valley

We understand that it can be very difficult for start-ups to get the exposure they need to be succesful. The Founder Showcase’s open competition gives any seed-stage company the opportunity to get in front of investors and the media by allowing their CEO peers to select the presenting companies in an open ballot on TheFunded.com Showcase.  These companies do not pay to present, and tickets and Event Tables for everybody else are designed to be very affordable.

The Most Innovative Start-Ups

By allowing the highly qualified and individually approved CEO members of TheFunded.com to help select the 10 presenting companies, we reduce the vote solicitation and voter bias that can plague other start-up pitch events.  We also work with the presenting companies prior to the event to ensure their pitch is in top shape – giving them exclusive access to Founder Institute resources, and providing constructive feedback on their presentation.

It’s a Learning Experience

The Founder Showcase exposes you to pitches from the most innovative new start-ups, and a Judging Panel of experienced CEOs and top-rated investors critique and grade each pitch – asking the key questions that any entrepreneur can expect to face.

We also get the highest rated CEO Mentors from the Founder Institute, an entrepreneur training program, to present on how to build your start-up. Previous speakers include Aaron Patzer of Mint.com, Phil Libin of Evernote, Munjal Shah of Like.com, Philip Kaplan of Adbrite and Blippy, Jay Jamison of Moonshoot, and Bubba Murarka of Facebook.

The Format

Showcase Contest

Members of the TheFunded.com, who are individually screened and approved, can vote on their favorite companies and even introduce Showcase companies to investors. This voting will help determine (along with some editorial input) the 10 companies who will present for free at the Founder Showcase event – who will also be given access to resources and feedback to improve their pitch.

Founder Showcase Event

The Founder Showcase Event is held at a top venue in the Silicon Valley area.  In addition to networking between start-ups, investors, service providers and the media, the event features talks from leading CEOs.

The Grand Prize Winner of the Founder Showcase is selected as follows;

• There are two rounds of five 3-minute company presentations; Round One, and Round Two. The order by which the companies present is selected at random prior to the event.
• After each presentation, the Judging Panel, featuring leading CEOs and investors, rates and critques the pitch for the audience’s consideration.
• After the Round One presentations are complete, the judging panel and audience select that round’s winner by an open ballot. This process is repeated for the Round Two presentations. These two finalists advance to the “Showcase Showdown. “
• The Showcase Showdown pits the two finalists in a lightning round where they answer quick questions from the members of the Judging Panel.
• The Grand Prize Winner is determined by a majority vote of the Judging Panel.

Prizes include $2500 in cash, free start-up services, free publicity, and free tickets to the event. Apply to the Contest here.