With his school year winding down, I decided I’d make a deal with him: He could join me at the Tech Wildcatters Pitch Day, but he’d have to write a blog about what he learned about each of the companies. When I saw the post he wrote, I realized that having a nine-year-old listen to elevator pitches from startups provides a great barometer for how well a presenter expressed the company’s value proposition. I’ll turn the floor over to James and let him share what he learned about the eleven companies that presented at #TWPitchDay2013:

Today I went to the Granada Theater in Dallas with my dad to meet start up companies. They were doing presentations to investors to raise money.

My dad did the introduction for HedgeChatter. I really did not understand what the do, but my dad said they did “DID”: They turn Data into Information so people can make better Decisions. Not sure what that really means but he seems to like their business.

Here is a quick summary of each of the companies and what they do:

Voncierge — Voncierge.com — @LittleDressBook
Voncierge is a virtual wedding website that lets brides find the time and day for appointments in a short time.

 

Klick Push — KlickPush.com — @KlickPush
Klick Push is redefining online advertising by intersecting it with digital music.

 

GroupRaise — GroupRaise.com — @GroupRaise
GroupRaise is a platform for charitable organizers to set up fundraisers online at local restaurants.

 

ScribeSense — ScribeSense.com — @ScribeSense
ScribeSense is a better way to track and improve student learning. Their online platform grades.

 

CrowdFeed — CrowdFeed.co — @CrowdFeed
CrowdFeed is an app that has a huge market, making music and merchandise available on the spot.

 

SmokePhone — SmokePhone.com — @SmokePhone
Smokephone is a site that lets you save your ten precious digits from strangers, and then you can delete them at any time.

 

HedgeChatter — HedgeChatter.com — @HedgeChatter
HedgeChatter is a social analytics tool for the stock market. It helps investors make more money in less time (from 12 hours to 6).

 

SocialGlimpz — SocialGlimpz.com — @SocialGlimpz
SocialGlimpz is a market insight tool to glean insights from users and build consumer strategy. It is an alternative to slow, expensive tools in the market.

 

Talentize — Talentize.com — @Talentize
Talentize is a website that lets DJs, actor, singers, artist, and models showcase themselves for jobs.

 

501Fund — 501Fund.com — @501Fund
501Fund is a company that helps with fundraising and saving money.

 

Secure PressID — SecurePressID.com — @SecurePressID
SecurepressID is a security company that lets your hand be the username and login to protect from hackers.

 

My favorite of all companies was GroupRaise. I like it because I like helping people, and that is what they do too! Klick Push was great too. They give you prizes like free music for getting to new levels in games. Maybe they can do that for Minecraft.

This is the second time I went to an event like this. Last year I met a lot of cool companies that came to Dallas from San Antonio. My dad said they were part of something called TechStars Cloud. I even presented to them about Steve Jobs. That made me nervous, but it was worth it.

I am already excited about going to my next demo day. And maybe someday I will be on the stage with a new idea.

-James Karidis

In the coming weeks, you’ll meet a few of the startups that have benefited from the Tech Wildcatters program, and we’ll share some of their post-accelerator success with you.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can participate in the Tech Wildcatters startup accelerator, visit http://techwildcatters.com. If you already know you want to take advantage of the opportunities Tech Wildcatters can provide, their simple online application is the only thing between you and your soon-to-be-huge business!

As it turns out, incubators programs like Tech Wildcatters and TechStars do the same thing … only with startups (and fewer egg shells).

As Paul mentioned in Fueling Startups with TechStars, TechStars has a series on Bloomberg TV that follows a few startups in TechStars New York from the application stage through their 3 month program and Demo Day. While I understood the basic premise of the incubator programs, seeing the way they documented it was like a crash course … So much so that when I talk about it with family and friends (and see their confused faces), I just pull up the first episode:

Just like a science class incubator that provides an egg with light, movement and an environment to mimic conditions required for growth, startup incubators give young businesses seed money, opportunities to pitch businesses to investors, and access to mentors and sponsors who are all there to provide support. In the short program term, the companies get exposure, guidance about funding and access to every other service a they could need to succeed. Piecing together that experience outside of the dedicated incubator environment would require a lot more time, effort and capital.

These incubator organizations are also referred to as startup accelerators, and they’re like a golden ticket to entrepreneurial success … And that’s why it’s so difficult for a startup to get accepted to participate in one of them. The value a startup brings to the table is not just in the idea; it’s also in the people behind the idea.

Recently, I attended the kick-off party for the new class of Tech Wildcatters startups, and I got a chance to meet some of these passionate startup owners. Their energy is contagious. My first-hand experience immediately reinforced to my why SoftLayer is so interested in helping foster companies that could redefine and reinvent the future.

All of these comparisons between about incubators and eggs have made me pretty hungry … If you need me, I’ll be down the street getting an omelet.

-Rachel