Steve Case, the co-founder of AOL and chair and CEO of Revolution, is coming to Atlanta on Thursday, May 7th on the Rise of the Rest tour. The event will kick off with a tour of local startup spaces and meetings with civic leaders. In the early afternoon the bus will arrive at Opera nightclub for a fireside chat with Steve about the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs, the Rise of the Rest concept, and how this is the best moment in recent history to start and scale a business in Atlanta. Next, the 8 local startup companies listed below will duke it out and pitch Steve and a panel of all-star judges for 5 minutes, with a $100,000 investment prize going to the winning startup.
Check out the contenders and get ready to root for your favorite
Partpic – visual search technology for replacement parts
Groundfloor – lending club for real estate
Cooleaf – employee engagement software for workplaces
LocalRoots – mobile marketplace for local farms to sell direct to consumers
eCredable – leverages alternative credit to connect “no credit” consumers to creditors
Zyrobotics – create mobile technology for educational and accessible play
Reveal Estate – Turbo Tax-like platform that empowers home buyers and saves them money
The Village Microfund – helps develop the economic landscape of low-income communities in the US
Companies will be judged by Steve Case, Bridgette Beam, David Cummings, Paul Judge, and David Hall according to the following criteria:
Bold Idea – Does the idea “swing for the fences” and have the potential to change the world – and, if successful, perhaps become a billion-dollar business?
Jobs – Will the idea, if it scales, employ a large number of people?
Team – Does the team have the skills and leadership to move forward on this idea?
Execution – Is there strong customer growth or revenue?
Business Model – Has a revenue model been defined and is it realistic and sustainable?
Local – Is this idea building on the core strengths (and unique differentiators) of the region – and, if selected, will this startup potentially excite national investors and media to pay more attention to what’s happening in the region?
