CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Nov 13, 2014) - MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) of Cambridge's Innovation Series Committee is hosting the Beantown Throwdown on Tuesday night, November 18, at District Hall in Boston's Innovation District.
Coinciding with Global Entrepreneurship Week, the evening brings together the highest number of the metro region's colleges and universities at a single student entrepreneurial business pitch competition. Areas of innovation include transportation, sustainability, healthcare/life sciences, entertainment and education tech. The teams representing nine schools include:
- GoBag, ultralight flexible water container -- Babson College
- Beat List, music discovery app -- Berklee College of Music
- ClassHack, video tutorial platform -- Boston College
- Downtyme, an app to "save you from your smartphone" -- Boston University
- Tomato Jos, local agricultural production company -- Harvard University
- Tvision Insights, bridging digital media and "offline" television -- MIT
- Dash, developer of small campus and urban transportation -- Northeastern University
- Nonspec, low-cost, durable prosthetics for developing nations -- UMass Lowell
- Gentoo, undergarment designed to support medical device use -- Wentworth Institute of Technology
Following the presentations, the audience of seed investors, venture capitalists, media, tech company executives and industry influencers will vote by "investing" play money in the most inspiring ideas. Winning teams will receive a range prizes to help launch and build their companies. Last year's winner, ecovent Systems, recently closed $2.2 million in equity funding and has raised $2.8 million to date.
The evening will begin with a fireside chat about startups and entrepreneurship moderated by Boston Globe Innovation Economy columnist Scott Kirsner and a panel of local innovation community luminaries, including Katie Rae, managing director of TechStars and founder of Project 11; Jebbit Founder and CEO Tom Coburn; and ecovent Systems Founder and CEO Dip Patel.
The Throwdown will conclude with a networking mixer featuring serial entrepreneur and investor DJ Jay Batson, founding CEO of Acquia and a favored mix master in local startup circles. The transition to tunes will allow the crowd to make connections for a couple of hours in a relaxed atmosphere.
Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton and CHEN PR are joining MITEF of Cambridge to host the event, with sponsors that include getfused, Coalition Workspace, General Assembly and danger!awesome. Clypd, Dataxu and Blade are also sponsoring and will be on hand to discuss with students and others in attendance the career opportunities available at their respective organizations.
"Innovation is at the heart of the Massachusetts economy," said Katja Wald, Executive Director, MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge. "MIT and our organization have long played a role in making a difference in the world through technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. The MITEF Cambridge Beantown Throwdown is highlighting a new generation of entrepreneurs. We're excited to help support them on their path to success by giving them this stage while providing them with an opportunity to win, among other prizes, some time and counsel from some members of the MITEF of Cambridge Board of Directors."
The event will be a sellout, but a handful of tickets are still available. To register, visit the MITEF of Cambridge website: http://bit.ly/1nLSVlR
About The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
Offering more than 40 programs annually, The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge strives to achieve the mission of our parent organization -- the MIT Enterprise Forum -- by showcasing emerging technologies and markets, coaching innovators and investors on how to create markets through technology and moderating and facilitating the dialogue on the risks, rewards and societal impacts of innovation.
Contact Information:
PRESS CONTACT:
Shannon Todesca (for MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge)
CHEN PR, Inc.
781-672-3147