Capital Connection'12 and TechBUZZ Highlights
The 25th Anniversary of Capital Connection'12 and the 3rd edition of the TechBUZZ program are now in the record books -- and what a great record it was! Record attendance of 1100 attending both events included a tremendous showing of over 400 CEOs and CXOs who joined investors and industry advisors for a 1 and one-half day conference filled with powerful speakers, compelling company presentations and dynamic networking that captivated the audience throughout the high-energy, nonstop action of the conference program.
"The DC tech community is vibrant and growing. Capital Connection remains the single best venue to connect with all the participants - entrepreneurs, investors, and industry heavyweights. I was energized by both the speakers and the attendees," said Steve Fredrick, General Partner, Grotech Ventures, and Co-Chair of Capital Connection'12.
Day 1 (May 23rd) began by the Investor Luncheon focused on Innovative New Models of Seed Stage funding, featuring a panel discussion with (insert the speakers - Tim Rowe, Greg Cangialosi and Bob Proctor). TechBUZZ then kicked off at 1pm with a keynote from Founder and CEO of Opower, Dan Yates. A standing room-only crowd heard from 28 emerging technology start-ups on the TechBUZZ stage vying for the title of "Best of the BUZZ" and the chance to compete in the TechBUZZ Showdown. With real-time audience feedback through a Distruptathon mobile application, the three "Best of the BUZZ" companies were named -- Augaroo, Cont3nt.com and Speek. The official start of Capital Connection'12 was ushered in with the opening keynote by Gilt Groupe CEO and Co-Founder Kevin Ryan. The evening wrapped up following a dinner reception and after-hours get-together.
Built upon the region's strong entrepreneurial traditions, Capital Connection is one of the nation's premier venture and private equity conferences and brings together senior players - investors, advisors, and entrepreneurs.
An early morning series of CXO Peer Group Discussions started off Day 2, followed by the Opening Session that featured Peter Barris, Managing General Partner, New Enterprise Associates (NEA); Cameron Lester, General Partner, Azure Capital; and Tony Palcheck, Managing Director, Motorola Ventures Motorola Solutions Venture Capital at Motorola Solutions; moderated by Dan Primack, Senior Editor, Fortune.com. Throughout the day the 26 main stage companies presented business models and growth strategies throughout the day. At lunch, Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin captivated the audience with his technology-powered adventures in Mongolia as an Emerging Explorer of the National Geographic Society. The afternoon was highlighted by an overflow audience that hung on every word during a "fire-side" chat with the ultimate entrepreneur Steve Case conducted by the Editor of Capital Business, Dan Beyers. The final event of Capital Connection'12 was the TechBUZZ Showdown competition between the three "Best of the BUZZ" companies. Emerging as the audience favorite was Augaroo. As winner of the TechBUZZ Showdown, Augaroo also won the opportunity to meet Steve Case for a chat over coffee.
Capital Connection'12 line-up of the 26 game-changing technology companies that were competitively selected to present on the Main Stage represented diverse technology fields, including cyber security, social media and marketing, information technology, cloud-based solutions, mobile apps, business, education, health IT, software and automation. TechBUZZ showcased 28 cutting-edge innovators that debuted innovative solutions comprised of 27 from a record number of TechBUZZ applicants and Cont3nt.com, the winner of the Startup America TechBUZZ Challenge Contest.
Main Stage TechBUZZ
Allied Soft LLC AakinaTek, LLC
Bambeco Aardvark Sensors
Basho Technologies Activity Rocket LLC
Canvas ARCSys
Cardagin Networks, Inc. Augaroo, Inc.
Centrifuge Systems, Inc. Authntk.com
Clear Data Strategies Barrel of Jobs
GramercyOne BetterPointment
High Street Partners CloudeAssurance, Inc.
Higher Logic Cont3nt.com
Mandiant Edorati
NationalField Fiteeza
newBrandAnalytics forMD
Pervazive Goodzer
Reality Mobile LLC GroupMD
RecargaX, Inc. iFanXP
Sawbuck IntroHive
Scoutmob Kapta Systems
SocialToaster Kinergy Health, LLC
Sonatype, Inc. MedClimate
WealthEngine My Design Guide.com
Wedding Wire Naaya
Windsor Circle, Inc. PointClickSwitch.com
ZoomSafer ProConIt.com
RideLeads Inc.
SocialSpring
Speek Inc.
Syllabuster, Inc.
Capital Connection’12 Celebrates the Success of 24 Sterling Companies
Celebrated as stellar high-performing, market-makers, MAVA's leadership investors unanimously selected 24 companies to receive MAVA's 2012 "Sterling Company" award as part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Capital Connection conference. These highly regarded companies were honored for their industry leadership, business success and top performance and their ability to serve as role models and inspiration for the next generation of technology superstars. Many of the following 24 Sterling Companies are Capital Connection alums, having presenting on stage at prior conferences.
Sterling Companies
2tor, Inc. Millennial Media
Alarm.com Neustar
Aptara NEW
Avail-TVN Opower
Blackboard PixelOptics
Broadsoft Primatics Financial
Cvent ScienceLogic
Eloqua Sourcefire
GlobalLogic TEOCO
Liberty Tax UnderArmour
LivingSocial Videology
MicroStrategy Virtustream