Startup Discuss.IO is Winner of Fifth Seattle Angel Conference Investment Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Startup Discuss.IO is Winner of  Fifth

Seattle Angel Conference Investment Competition

Winner receives $155,000 Investment, 33Angel Investors

gain hands on investment training.

SEATTLE, WA. – May 22, 2014 — The Seattle Angel Conference announced today that Discuss IO was selected as the winner of its fifth investment competition, held in Seattle, WA,  at the 220 and Change in Seattle .   Discuss.IO is a Seattle based company that has been building their market research platform for years. They had participated in SAC IV in Nov. 2013, and fell short in their goal to win the investment.  This round they showed their growth, ability to meet their commitments, and solid sales traction, which impressed the investors.  Discuss.IO’s mission is to simplify consumer market research. They use video conferencing and crowdsourcing to connect brands and consumers.  Discuss.IO  will receive a $155,000 angel award investment from the Seattle Angel Conference V LLC .  Given the strength of the candidates, the Angel Investors couldn’t let it stop with one winner.  SocialGlimpz, another brand marketing company, focused on visual engagement with consumers won a second investment of $45,000 from the LLC.

This event’s finalist companies were selected from over 40 companies based throughout Washington that applied to compete at the fifth Seattle Angel Conference. A rigorous selection process (known as due diligence) was undertaken by the 33 active angel investors to select the winning company. Thirty to Fifty hours of investigation was performed on each finalist, amounting to over 240 hours of due diligence.   In the process 15 new Angel Investors were introduced to the investing process. Each investor staked $5,500  to $10,000 to create the  $200,000 investment award for this year’s event.  This rounds investment brings the total investment from the Seattle Angel Conference to a remarkable $835,000  invested in the local economy and over 100 investors educated about angel investing in just 2.5 years of the Seattle Angel Conference.

“The Seattle Angel Conference is all about giving new angel investors mentoring, training and experience, growing the available support and capital for Washington’s many startups, removing a key bottleneck for the economy,” said John Sechrest, founder of the Seattle Angel Conference.   “At the same time, we are helping promising startups improve their business models with support and feedback from successful investors”.

The five  finalists who pitched were:

Grow Plastics – @growplastics Enabling replacement of  solid  plastic products with half as much bioplastic, providing greener and cheaper solutions.

Meshfire - @meshfire   a social media empowerment platform enabling teams to manage the firehose flow of social media for brands.

Discuss.IO - @discuss_IO –simplifying consumer market research, using video conferencing and crowdsourcing  to connect businesses to 11 million panelists

SocialGlimpz - @socialglimpz  -Visual engagement platform enabling brands to gather consumer insights and create user generated content

Zealyst - @Zealyst using data driving software and creative design to build long lasting human relationships and improve engagement and innovation.

Participating companies received awards of a month at Maker Space.   BakerHostetler, Comcast for Business, AterWynne, The Gateway group at Morgan Stanley and SeedInvest also provided sponsorship, making the conference possible.  HubSeattle, SurfIncubator, Thinkspace and Bainbridge Graduate institute provided invaluable in-kind support.

The next Seattle Angel Conference will be held in November 2014.  All Washington startups and interested investors should inquire in June about participating in the next round of educational events, trainings, and competition.  Deadline for applications will be September 1, 2014.

About the Seattle Angel Conference

Each Seattle Angel Conference culminates a 5 month program to educate and train accredited investors as exemplary angel investors through workshops, hands-on practice and mentoring.  The Seattle Angel Conference is an investor driven conference, connecting new angel investors with early stage and seed businesses  in the Greater Seattle Area.  The Seattle Angel Conference introduces qualified investors to the potential, process and rewards of angel investing, and equally importantly, works to encourage, accelerate and coach startup companies in the Seattle areas and across the Northwest. For more information see http://www.seattleangelconference.com. 

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Contact:

John Sechrest

Founder

Seattle Angel Conference

c: 541 250 0844

sechrest@seattleangelconference.com

                                  

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