Apply

Any seed or early-stage company less than 2 years old and with less than $500,000 in funding is invited to apply to the Showcase Contest on TheFunded.com. The companies with the most votes on TheFunded.com Showcase on the voting deadline of Sunday, October 10th at 11:59pm PST will be part of the 10 companies invited to present at the Founder Showcase Event.

Applying is Easy:

1. Reserve a ticket to the Founder Showcase event. The 10 presenting companies will be reimbursed for their purchased tickets – the Founder Showcase does not charge entrepreneurs to present to investors.
2. Create your company Pitch on the Showcase section of TheFunded.com. If you are not yet a member of TheFunded, please apply here, and be sure to mention the Founder Showcase prominently in your application. The sooner you apply, the more time you have to gather votes.
3. Collect as many votes as possible on TheFunded.com by the voting deadline of Sunday, October 10th at 11:59pm PST. Get the word out and gather votes – send people to TheFunded.com’s Showcase section, and use the hashtag #foundershowcase in your posts.
4. On Monday, October 11th, the 10 companies invited to present at the event will be contacted privately, and given access to exclusive resources to help improve their pitch prior to the event.

Winner Selection Process

• 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 critiques 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.

What Can I Win?

All 10 Presenting Companies will receive

• Free tickets to the Founder Showcase Event
• A $250 credit from oDesk.com
• Publicity on TheFunded.com, and beyond

The Grand Prize Winner will receive

• $2500 on the spot
• Pitching slots at the Silicon Valley chapters of the Keiretsu Forum ($6000 value)
• $2000 of free legal services from Cooley