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StartupNation, Toshiba and GoToMeeting Launch Elevator Pitch Contest

Call for contestants’ video-submissions now open; Five winners eligible for an hour each with top seed stage venture capital investors

StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) has launched the 2009 “Elevator Pitch” contest with shttp://ponsors Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division (http://www.explore.toshiba.com) and GoToMeeting® (http://www.gotomeeting.com) from Citrix Online. The contest will recognize the next great business ideas and entrepreneurs worthy of funding. The winning entrepreneurs will receive a pre-arranged one-hour presentation to top tier investors and give them a competitive edge in seeking investment in this challenging economic climate. The winners will also each receive a Toshiba Satellite® Pro S300 laptop to help them achieve all of their goals with maximum capability, mobility and reliability. An additional prize includes a one-year GoToMeeting account, enabling the contest winners to conduct presentations and meetings online in real time.

Elevator pitches have a long history in American business and typically contain an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project and the name reflects the fact that the pitch can be delivered in the time span of a brief elevator ride.

Contestants interested in competing in the contest can submit a video pitch to http://www.startupnation.com/elevator-pitch-2009 up until March 20, 2009. Video submissions should be quick-hitting business plan pitches designed to entice investors (thirty seconds and 100-150 words). The top 100 contestants will be selected by popular vote and then judged by a panel of StartupNation judges as well as an outside panel of renowned angel and seed stage venture capital investors.

On April 7, the top five pitchers will be announced and invited to participate in a 60-minute, GoToMeeting-hosted online meeting with a panel of seed stage investors whose funds under management exceed $1 billion collectively. StartupNation’s objective is to give entrepreneurs every chance possible to successfully launch and grow their business ventures.

“This is an extremely tough a time for entrepreneurs as financing has tightened up considerably in 2009. However, top investors are still on the hunt for outstanding business ideas. Our goal with the Elevator Pitch contest is to give these intrepid entrepreneurs constructive feedback on how to be more effective in pitching their opportunities to investors and to inspire others to prepare their own pitches so when their ‘someday chance’ comes, they’re ready for show time. After all, if you can’t communicate your business opportunity in a quick elevator ride, you’re not ready to raise money!” said Rich Sloan, co-founder and chief startupologist of StartupNation.com. Sloan has critiqued thousands of pitches on StartupNation Radio, a weekly, nationally syndicated call-in radio program that informs and entertains entrepreneurs.

To enter, contestants must submit video or audio up to two minutes in length to StartupNation.com by March 20, 2009. Contestants must be located in the U.S. and be 18 or older to participate.

(Many thanks to Carolyn Adams| Borders + Gratehouse

[email protected] PH: 415/963-4174 ext. 4 for passing this along. Russ)

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