Emerging Startups Compete to Unveil their Newest Products and  Services to Silicon Valley’s Top Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors  and Tech Influencers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SVForum today announced that submissions are now open for startups to enter their company’s newest products and services for a chance to present at this year’s Launch: Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley’s annual summer product launch platform for startups from around the world. Launch: Silicon Valley 2012, to be held this year on June 5, 2012 at Microsoft in Mountain View, California, is Silicon Valley’s most affordable, high-value, high-visibility product launch showcase.

“Based on its central position in Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem, Launch: Silicon Valley has long provided a valuable entrée to the media, corporate executives, potential investors and other influencers who can  help shape young startups’ success. For many companies ‘Launch’ has provided that critical boost.”

Launch: Silicon Valley 2012, which is judged by Silicon Valley’s leading venture capitalists, angel investors and tech influencers, is designed to uncover and showcase products and services from the most exciting of the newest startups in information technology, mobility, digital media, next generation internet, life sciences and clean energy.

“Especially in the current economic environment, young companies are looking for affordable, high value, high visibility ways to introduce themselves in the marketplace,” said SVForum CEO Chris Gill. “Based on its central position in Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem, Launch: Silicon Valley has long provided a valuable entrée to the media, corporate executives, potential investors and other influencers who can help shape young startups’ success. For many companies ‘Launch’ has provided that critical boost.”

During the past 6 years, appbackr, BLADE, Data Robotics, Dayak, d.light.design, fix8, Industrial Origami, Intelen, Jaxtr, JungleCents, Kongregate (acquired by GameStop), Mobisant, MyShape, Skyline Solar, Smaato, Steelhouse, tenCube (acquired by McAfee), Triggit, Trooval, Truemors (acquired by NowPublic), uTest, Vizibility, Yodio, Zuora, and  over 100 other startups leveraged SVASE’s annual Launch: Silicon Valley event, to launch their products, raising over $145MM in venture capital, securing customers and partners along the way.

Companies interested in presenting their products at Launch: Silicon Valley 2012 should send an Executive Summary of no more than two pages to Launchsv@SVForum.org by April 27, 2012. Further details available at www.launchsiliconvalley.org

Sponsors: Launch: Silicon Valley is once again co-presented by the early stage venture capital firm Garage Technology Ventures and Microsoft, and will be hosted at the Microsoft Silicon Valley campus in Mountain View. Additional sponsors include the Band of Angels; Hummer Winblad, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Sand Hill Angels, the Angels Forum, Cooley LLP, and Global Media Strategy Communications LLC, among others.

Networking: Presenting companies, guest speakers, review panelists and audience members will have the opportunity to network at the Launch: Silicon Valley pre-Event Party on the evening of June 4, as  well as meet on the day of the event to discuss presenters’ companies in more depth and potential opportunities to work together in the future.

“Thanks to Launch: Silicon Valley we’ve made some very important connections,” said James Alexander, CEO of Vizibility, a presenting company at Launch: Silicon Valley 2010. “Since the event, we’ve also enjoyed a great deal of media coverage, including being featured on ABC News.”

How it Works: Submissions & Selections Process:

Companies interested in presenting their products at Launch: Silicon Valley 2012 should send an Executive Summary of no more than two pages to Launchsv@SVForum.org by April 27, 2012. Companies must have a product or service available as of June 5, 2012, but not introduced in the marketplace for       more than a few months prior to the event. Executive Summaries will be evaluated by at least two members of the Launch: Silicon Valley Advisory Board.

Selected companies will be invited to present on stage for 6-minutes, followed by 4 minutes of constructive feedback, from a panel of professional investors. The product and company “most likely to succeed” will be selected by votes from the panel and audience in each of the six designated presenting categories, including information technology, mobility, digital media, next generation internet, life sciences and clean tech.

Affordable: The registration fee for companies invited to present will be $750 for SVForum Members, and $950 for non-Members. (Note:  SVForum annual individual membership is $145.)

The first batch of audience registrations, at 50% discount ($112.50 for SVForum Members, $192.50 for non-members and $182.50 for registration plus 6 month’s membership) will be available for audience members until sold at http://www.svforum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1198 after which the next batch of registrations, at 25% discount, will be made available.

For further information and detailed agenda please go to http://www.launchsiliconvalley.org

About SVForum

Founded in 1983, our mission is to inspire engineers, technologists and entrepreneurs to expand the realm of what’s possible, by providing the education, connections and discussions that stimulate ideas and actions, leading to new practices, technologies, companies, and even industries.

With the support of an outstanding team of knowledgeable, passionate volunteers, and an experienced, committed Board, we connect annually with over 15,000 engineers, technologists and entrepreneurs, at over 200 events, covering a wide range of topics from emerging technologies to product launch, and beyond. For further information, visit www.svforum.org.

About Garage Technology Ventures

Garage Technology Ventures is a seed-stage and early-stage venture capital fund headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with investors that include Thomas Weisel Partners and CalPERS, the California Public Employees Retirement System. Garage is focused on investing in emerging technology startups in the Western U.S. For more information about Garage, visit http://www.garage.com

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