Given that this happened two weeks ago, I am a bit tardy in reporting the results of the Startup Alley pitch competition, which was the opening night event at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago March 2. I blame it on two solid weeks of travel and a deluge of catching up after returning home.
The pitch competition is a fast-paced event in which 15 finalists get exactly three minutes each to make their pitches to a live TECHSHOW audience. Presenters are free to use slides and videos as backdrops, but must present the spoken part live. It is a lot of pressure. Even if they are not done, they are cut off at three minutes.
At the end of all the pitches, the audience votes using an app that tallies the results.
So without further ado, here are this year’s top three winners:
- First place: Turnsignl, an app that provides drivers on-demand teleconferencing with attorneys during traffic stops and following car accidents. (That’s Turnsignl CEO Jazz Hampton presenting in the photo above.)
- Second place: Dashboard Legal, a collaboration and project management tool that helps lawyers organize their inboxes, track documents and deadlines, and collaborate with colleagues.
- Third place: Clearbrief, a product that gives litigators a new way to craft their most compelling writing by putting the power of accurate evidence at their fingertips.
It was a tight competition, with only one vote separating the first- and second-place finishers.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the startups that participated this year.
Startup Alley will be back next year, so stay tuned to this blog in the fall for details.
