WORLD’S LARGEST STARTUP COMPETITION SEMI-FINALISTS PITCH AT CES IN VEGAS 17th January, 2019

The 5th annual race to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island continues to heat up for Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition. 

 

XTC Top 10 Semi Finalists awaiting results

After announcing the Top 25 teams on Necker Island this past October, the list of contenders has now been narrowed down to the Top 10 Semi-Finalists. This year’s XTC semi-finals took place on January 10th, 2019 in the Bellini Ballroom at the Venetian Hotel.  Each of the 10 companies pitched to a captured audience in the packed room, the judges found it extremely difficult to pick the Top 3. It was one of the most divers Top 10’s to date with companies from Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and throughout the United States, presenting a variety of inspiring technologies, including blockchain, transportation, wearables, IoT and biotech. 

 

Dave Shor, Founder / Lynq

 

Drew Lakatos, Founder / ActiveProtective

 

The XTC 2019 Top 3 Finalists are ActiveProtective (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), developing a wearable that protects the hips of older adults using wearable airbags, Elevian (Boston, Massachusetts), creating regenerative medicines, with the potential to treat and prevent many age-related diseases and Lynq (Brooklyn, New York), the the world’s most advanced long-range tracker.

 

XTC Top 3

 

Congratulations to the XTC Top 3!

The Top 3 Finalists will now compete for the top spot at the XTC Finals on Necker Island on April 3rd, 2019.

Since 2015, XTC has established itself as the premier competition empowering entrepreneurs with visibility, and resources, leading to and enabling exponential growth. Semi-finalists represent a broad range of industries, including Biotec, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Accessibility, Transportation, Internet-of-Things, and more. As a worldwide competition, semi-finalists were travelling to Las Vegas from Australia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Switzerland, and throughout the United States to make their presentations to judges and the crowd. The diversity in the industries, backgrounds, and current stages of the finalists adds an extra layer of complexity and intrigue to the competition as the judges evaluate each company. Each year it has proved to be an exciting event for all present.

 

XTC judging panel evaluating the Top 10 presenters

 

The fate of the 10 Semi-Finalists rested in the capable hands of an expert judging panel including Veronica Serra (Founding Partner, Pacific Investimentos and Innova Capital), David Hagan (CEO, Boingo Wireless, Executive Board Member CTA), Shankar Chandran (Sr. Vice President & Managing Director, Samsung Catalyst Fund), Lisa Andrews (CEO, Ignite Alliance), Larry O’Connor (Founder & CEO, OWC).

XTC is proudly partnering with well-known companies in the tech industry, including Bitfury, Cisco, OWC, Zoom, Joy Ventures, INCmty; event partners CES, Necker Island, IBM and Revl as well as supporting partners AP Live, Beep, Onkaro, The Confluence, Imaginex, The Ticket Fairy, Poltio, F6S and VR Fest. Together with XTC, these sponsors offer support and exposure that money cannot buy with this showcase event at the world’s largest technology trade show, CES, and then also at Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island in April 2019.

Learn more about all the semi-finalists, and additional details about the event here: https://goo.gl/UZJM6V.

To learn more about accessing these start-ups and how to attend the finals on Necker Island, contact: [email protected] or call +44 (0)207 145 0150


AND THE EXTREME TECH CHALLENGE 2018 WINNER IS… 25th October, 2018

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) announces 2018 winner of its fourth annual competition

Every year, the Extreme Tech Challenge launches its contestants into unprecedented levels of notoriety while exposing them to some of the most influential people in the tech industry. In addition to taking place across four stages where contestants were given the opportunity to publicly pitch their ventures at The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest technology trade show in Las Vegas, the top three finalists were sent to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands for the XTC Finals on October 19th.

XTC had the pleasure of being Necker’s first guests since the hurricanes and there, a panel of judges, spearheaded by Branson himself, selected a winner. XTC is thrilled to announce that the winner of the fourth annual competition is Power Ledgerthe software company from Perth, Australia, using blockchain technology to enhance the adoption and accessibility of clean energy worldwide.

“We are honoured and delighted to receive this award and excited for the additional opportunities available to us from this endorsement.” – Dr Jemma Green, Co-Founder, Power Ledger

From hundreds of world-changing innovations and ideas, only three finalists could be selected at CES to move onto the championship round on Necker Island. While many of the contestants showed promise as the competition was extremely fierce, these three finalists can say with pride that they made it to XTC’s top three—a prestigious accomplishment in its own right:

  • Owlet Baby Care: Founded in 2013 by a team of passionate parents who believed there had to be better resources for infant healthcare in the home. The team’s goal is to bring themselves and other parents around the globe peace of mind and assurance by developing a device that tracks the baby’s oxygen and heart rate while asleep. Using clinically proven technology called pulse oximetry, the Owlet Smart Sock is designed to notify parents if something appears to be wrong.
  • Power Ledger: Power Ledger is a blockchain software company developing solutions for the energy industry. The Power Ledger Platform is an ecosystem of blockchain applications that enables peer-to-peer trading between households that own energy assets to trade electricity with their neighbors as well as set their own prices.
  • Revl: Revl provides AI video editing as a service for experience providers like zip-lines, racetracks, skydive drop zones and soon cruise ships and theme parks. Our system uses Revl Arc cameras to capture the experience and Artificial Intelligence to edit a full social media package including 2 cinematic videos in less than 90 seconds.

 

The winner was selected by a panel of elite judges across the fields of entrepreneurship and tech which included the aforementioned Sir Richard Branson alongside Bitfury co-founder Valery Vavilov, United Arab Emirates’ Prince Zayed Suroor, Ignite Founder & Singularity University Co-Ambassador, Lisa Andrews and Head of Marketing at Zoom Communications, Janine Pelosi.

As the XTC team comes down from yet another superb competition, they are already looking toward 2019 as they have already set a new date for the next XTC Finals which will be held on April 3, 2019 and they will soon announce the top 25 candidates who will compete.

 

Original: http://www.extremetechchallenge.com/2018/10/24/and-the-extreme-tech-challenge-2018-winner-is/


XTC Sponsorship Series Presents: Jungle Creations As Sponsor For Social Media Vertical 4th September, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is excited to introduce first time judges and proud official sponsors of the Social Media Vertical category Jungle Creations to the 2018 XTC Sponsorship Series. Jungle Creations specializes in viral content creation and distribution for an array of global brands and regularly tops the charts for the most shared branded campaigns on Facebook. Regularly achieving over four billion views a month on its social channels alone, they’re in the top 10 most viewed media platforms in the world and in March 2017 their channel VT was the most viewed channel on all of Facebook.

Now in it’s fourth year, XTC 2018 returns more exciting and innovative than ever as the competition brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Jungle Creations will be be joining the team of global sponsors who will be on hand to guide and support this year’s applicants as they compete in the Tech Challenge of their lives.

“At Jungle Creations we’re always on the look-out for exciting and innovative technology companies to showcase to our billions of viewers. With our platform reaching millions of people a day, we think it’s important to use this influence to give ground-breaking tech companies an opportunity to be seen.We’ve carefully crafted our network to offer specific, relevant audiences for brands. By building platforms with unique identities and audiences, we’re able to market category-specific brands to the right people at the right time.We’re proudly sponsoring the Social Media vertical to help start-ups learn how to market the right way on social by utilising platforms like ours to grow their businesses, drive sales and raise awareness of their world-changing tech.” – Mitch Strong, Jungle Creations Commercial Partnerships Director

As part of its sponsorship, Jungle Creations will offer prizes to the contestants within the Social Media Vertical as well as to the Winner of XTC 2018. Up for grabs is one Social Media Consultancy session with the Head of Social at Jungle Creations and one branded video distribution on its largest page VT.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC COO, Sabine Schindlbauer said: “We are delighted to welcome Jungle Creations as the official Social Media Vertical sponsor. Integrating brands into XTC helps the entire competition grow, whilst also helping Jungle Creations achieve their objectives. With Jungle Creations’ leading content platforms showcasing our start-ups technology, it will enable them to grow and drive global awareness.”

Deal brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Jungle Creations: Website | Facebook | Instagram
XTC: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram


Jackie Fast named as Entrepreneur of the Week 5th May, 2016

Jackie Fast has been announced Entrepreneur of the Week by The Budding Entrepreneur Magazine.

Jackie was interviewed for The Budding Entrepreneur Magazine, you can read the interview below:

Tell us about you and the business
Slingshot creates revenue for organisations through the process of transforming those organisations into viable marketing platforms for brands. Basically we get sponsors for events, online platforms, television, associations, celebrities and charities. Launched on the premise that sponsorship can do more than just brand awareness through logo badging, we uncover the true value and business synergies that deliver significant ROI for all parties involved. This approach is based on business value – we are essentially commercial experts for organisations wanting to grow.

How are you helping start-ups?
Almost 70% of our Bootcamps are with start-up businesses as creating a robust sponsorship strategy is vital to not only their ambitious growth plans, but tends to also be the only way the Founders can earn a salary.
We also have a quarterly training module with General Assembly, which is specific to the tech start up community. Many tech start-ups secure VC funding at product development stage; however, when they go to launch it – funds have dried out, so we teach tech start-ups (and VC fund managers) how to utilise sponsorship techniques to reach users critical mass for awareness (and sales).

Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur, but I’m not sure I always wanted to be one (or really understood what one was) at a young age. I like executing ideas – in often controversial ways, so being my own boss is typically the easiest way to do this.

Where did the idea come from?
I’ve been known as a financial fixer in my previous roles – I find solutions to money problems using creative commercial strategies. It was a very simple step to go from that into sponsorship.

Do you have a business role model?
I don’t have a particular business role model, but I admire people who don’t take no for an answer and who aren’t worried about what other people think. I’m also a huge fan of Harriet Green as she cold called her last employer (Thomas Cook). I love anyone who cold calls a Chairman of a company outlining why things could be done better.

What were you doing before you started?
I initiated and led the first sponsorship division of the Direct Marketing Association in the UK.

What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Hiring the right people for business growth. Our people are so vital to our business and so it’s so important to work with the right ones. However, it can also be a challenging job with a lot of pressure – and it’s been a learning experience trying to identify the right types of people who can be successful in this environment.

What has been the biggest breakthrough?
Learning that the emotions in business come in cycles – and everyone goes through hard times, but the important thing is to keep your vision and keep a smile on your face.

Do you think there is enough entrepreneurship taught in the education system?
I actually think there is a lot of entrepreneurship education everywhere (including the education system); however, most of the time it’s has little awareness with actual budding entrepreneurs. I think we could do more to promote the available opportunities.

What are your plans for this year?
Slingshot have been actively opening our horizons globally – with projects already in India, Africa, and Asia this year alone, we are hoping to build our presence in these new markets.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
With a great team working on excellent partnership opportunities with brands you haven’t heard of yet.


When Bigger Isn’t Better – Challenger Properties Offering Sponsors Value for Money 13th July, 2015

Amongst the fall-out from the recent FIFA investigations, a number of brands expressed concern at being involved with the prestigious global property. Should those brands re-evaluate their sponsorship, they may well be inclined to look at a lower profile alternative – a challenger property with a solid foundation, set to ascend further into the public eye.

Lower profile properties allow sponsors to have greater access, less risk and a greater opportunity to tailor their involvement helping to facilitate a more integrated partnership with the rights-holder.

An example of this is one of Slingshot’s client’s GB Taekwondo, one of the shining lights of Team GB and golden hopes of Rio 2016. Established in 2002, the team has grown substantially in recent years developing into a team of 27 full time athletes including a school outreach programme, UK hosted international and domestic championships and a clear pathway to Olympic success.

The team has captured medals at the Olympics, World Grand Prix and most recently conquered at the World Championships where Bianca Walkden and Damon Sansum claimed Gold & Silver medals  respectively resulting in national media coverage across the BBC and ITV. Jade Jones also clinched Gold at the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Tasting Success

With a challenger rights-holder such as GB Taekwondo the team offers sponsors an extremely flexible and personal platform to associate the brand – reaching multiple objectives in the business.

Hill Dickinson the law firm (a partner of the team since 2014) is a prime example of a company who has leveraged their partnership to great effect, creating tangible new business opportunities, cross company staff engagement and accomplishing multiple CSR objectives within the firm.

The firm was provided such flexibility due to the aligned core objectives of both parties. The team and athletes understood Hill Dickinson’s key objectives and helped facilitate this through their own understanding of their assets – a proactive approach not often taken with some of the more established rights holders. Through this sponsorship, staff have created lasting relationships with Olympic athletes which have grown and developed on the Road to Rio 2016 creating a more holistic partnership than mere branding or hospitality.

Future Opportunities

With challenger properties, brands have the opportunity to truly partner with the right-holders. Enabling the opportunity to reach success across company objectives with smaller companies who may believe sponsorship is out of their budget.

As the property evolves as will the partnership and fees associated. The brand’s objectives and focus will adapt, changing in tune to the success – reaping the rewards on their modest outlay with increased PR, awareness and opportunities. When working in this manner, sponsors find the ROI clear to see with such a cross section of involvement at all levels.

Act now!

In the Road to the Rio Olympics, now is the time to consider how lower profile sporting properties could significantly benefit brands – without the price tag of sponsoring the Olympics.

The GB Taekwondo team has a calendar for 2015/2016 including the World Championships, Baku 2015 European Games, World Grand Prix, the Road to Rio and the crowning glory of the Olympics. Now is the perfect time to engage to access Olympic benefits leading in to Rio 2016, supporting your business objectives over the long term.

*Partnership opportunities are available with both team level with GB Taekwondo, and at the World Grand Prix held on the 16th -18th October 2015 at Sportscity Manchester.