Washington, D.C.-based TwentyTables has been selected as an alternate to compete in the Hyper-Connected Communities category in the 2019 SXSW pitch competition. The startup that curates an app for meal deals and gives back will compete in a one minute speed pitch competition, while still having a chance to compete on the bigger stage.
— TwentyTables (@TwentyTables) January 11, 2019
Each of the 10 pitch categories has five finalists and three alternates and if any of the finalists drop out, the alternates are bumped up to compete in the eleventh annual SXSW Pitch event. TwentyTables founder and CEO Alexander Cohen told Technical.ly that TwentyTables is the first company from D.C., Maryland or Virginia to be invited up on stage in years and due to the increasing number of applicants, SXSW is becoming increasingly more selective. According to SXSW data, over the last three years almost 2,000 companies from around the globe have applied to participate in the pitch competition.
“Either way, it’s exposure and time on stage at one of the biggest interactive tech events in the world,” TwentyTables founder and CEO Alexander Cohen told Technical.ly.
All of the alternates will compete against each other in a preliminary round. Each company gets a microphone and one minute to live pitch and because of time restraints. There will be no presentation slides or props allowed. Three alternates will be selected to pitch in a final Speed Pitch round where a winner will be selected from a panel of judges.
Each category will recognize a winner as well as a Best in Show, Best Bootstrap Company and Best Speed Pitch. The Best Speed Pitch company will be awarded $1,000 and two platinum badges to the 2020 SXSW Interactive Festival. SXSW Pitch 2019 will take place March 9-10 in Austin, Texas.
TwentyTables is no rookie to pitch competitions after taking first place at the 2018 Startup Week DC pitch competition, winning $7,500 in prizes. The startup recently announced a partnership with Richmond,Va.-based Performance Food Group which now allows TwentyTables participating restaurants and food trucks the opportunity to access Performance Food Group goods and services as a preferred vendor.
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