ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS--(Marketwired - Dec 2, 2013) - After winning the national round of pitch competition Get in the Ring as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week in the US, EyeVerify (http://www.eyeverify.com) has secured the trophy as the international champion of the contest. CEO Toby Rush left Monday night for Rotterdam, where he competed against seven startups from around the globe for an opportunity to take home more than $1.4 million in angel financing. The final amount of financing is dependent on negotiations with investors.
Following selection rounds in 32 countries, with over 1,000 participating startups, the eight international finalists of the Get in the Ring entrepreneurship contest battled for the global title. On the evening of November 22nd, these eight finalists competed for a possible investment of up to EUR 1,000,000 during the final round of Get in the Ring: The Investment Battle in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The jury of four included Ingrid Vanderveldt (Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Dell), Riku Asikainen (Chairman Finnish Business Angels Network), Fatih Isbecer (Turkish Angel Investor), and Bala Kamallakharan (CEO of GreenQloud) selected the winner of every one-on-one battle. The final decision was voted on by the audience consisting of 600 people, including over 120 investors and 300 fellow entrepreneurs.
During the international final, each entrepreneur made a show business style entrance to the notes of their personally chosen music. The winner Toby Rush made his entrance with the song the 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor, and faced Dutch startup JackSavior in his battle. Commenting on his victory, he says, "It is an amazing and satisfying feeling to work hard with your team and to get recognized. It is a great encouragement, because during the startup you work hard for months. It is like you are pushing a rock uphill in mud and fog, and you really don't know when you will get to the top of the hill. In victory moments like these you think: we are doing this, and we are doing it right and it's gonna work."
"Get in the Ring was a great closing event for a massive process of going through 1,000 companies in 32 countries to select the champion. Absolutely great evening in front of sold out audience. Battles between the best of the bests were inspirational and very energizing. I am proud to be one of the judges to select EyeVerify to be the International Champion of 2013! Congratulations for the whole team for work well executed!" said final round judge Riku Asikainen, Co-Founder and Chairman of the board of the Finnish Business Angels Network.
About Get in the Ring
Get in the Ring is a non-profit concept, which is initiated by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and is powered by ING. The aim of the competition is to help and support entrepreneurs finding an investment, by bringing them in contact with investors and to inspire them to start their own entrepreneurial journey.
In the international competition Get in the Ring: The Investment Battle startups get the opportunity to secure and investment up to EUR 1,000,000. In 2013 over 1,000 startups from 32 countries have participated and more than 300 investors are involved in the process. Ultimately, only the 8 most promising startups will get the opportunity to pitch at the international final.
About EyeVerify:
EyeVerify is the exclusive provider of Eyeprint Verification, a highly accurate biometric for mobile devices. Eyeprint Verification delivers a password free mobile experience and secure authentication at a glance. This patented solution uses existing cameras on smartphones to image and pattern match the blood vessels in the whites of the eye. For more information and a free trial of the solution, go to http://www.eyeverify.com
Contact Information:
Denise Myers
913-485-4585
denise.myers@eyeverify.com