Distilled Intelligence Competition Will Award $25k to 55 Startups

Distilled Intelligence 1.0 is a startup competition that’s taking place this Tuesday, Oct 11, and aims to energize the Mid-Atlantic region of startups and investors.
The event is put on by Fortify.vc, a regional seed and early stage venture fund founded and managed by serial entrepreneurs and angel investors. In fact, they had a local play in July 2011 when it was announced that they participated in a $750k seed round for Baltimore-based 410 Labs.
Tuesday’s competition will feature 55 startups (including Baltimore-based Parking Panda) that have been picked to compete for a chance to win cash and prizes totaling $25,000 (no strings attached). The companies represent a strong cross-section of technology including big data, cyber security, clean / green tech, critical infrastructure, disruptive technology, analytics, design, enterprise software, medical IT, mobile commerce, SaaS providers, and social platforms.
Adam Fazackerley, General Partner of Fortify.vc and Master of Ceremonies for the event, said this about the event,

“We had a large number of submissions and many great companies to choose from. The overall quality, diversity and level of talent made this a challenging process. Initially, the down select number was 50, but the caliber of the startups was so strong that we felt compelled to expand the field.”

Distilled Intelligence 1.0 will take place this Tuesday, October 11, 2011 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Virginia’s Center of Innovative Technology (CIT) in Herndon, Virginia.
Jonathon Perrelli, Founder and General Partner of Fortify.vc, had this to say about the event,

“This is a unique time for innovation and investing in the Mid-Atlantic region and we are fortunate to see such support for Distilled Intelligence 1.0 from the technology community, sponsors, startups and investors. Although it feels like we are throwing two weddings on the same day as we cater to the needs of both founders and investors equally, all of the hard work will pay off for this region.”

The event is on track to draw more than 500 people. Tickets are still on sale for investors and entrepreneurs who are interested in attending. As sponsors of the event, we are allowed to offer our readers a 10% discount on ticket pricing by using the code FORTIFY when buying your ticket. Let us know if you’re coming or if you’d like to coordinate carpool by using the Facebook group or comments below.