The five finalists will make their final pitch for the grand prize before a panel of distinguished judges who are nationally-recognized financial experts, venture capitalists, and investors, on Tuesday, April 27. New this year, audience members will be able to weigh in on the finalist presentations and vote for their favorites. Each company will have a five digit code associated with it. Audience members will use that code to send a text from their mobile phones. The audience’ choice will be considered by judges as they make their final selections.
Finalists include:
- Brand Yourself, LLC, Syracuse: Brand‐Yourself is the first web platform that empowers individuals to manage their entire online reputation from one central hub, and establish a remarkable web presence by harnessing the power of social media. The platform makes it easy for customers to control how they are perceived online from their Google results to their social networking profiles, and helps them network by tapping the data of the social web. www.brand‐yourself.com
- Floodwatch, LLC Ithaca: FloodWatch has developed a patent pending cost‐effective optical based water sensor. Typically mounted on the ceiling, this technology is able to detect very small quantities of water (and other fluids) in a safe and reliable manner, while supporting a wide range of applications. The water sensor detects the presence of moisture, leaks, or flooding without touching the surface that it monitors. It is placed upwards of 14 feet from the floor and has a detection circle of 40 inches in diameter. The FloodWatch solution will notify building owners on a local or remote basis, including through security monitoring systems, building management systems or via a simple cell phone text message or email. www.floodwatchusa.com
- GeneWeave Biosciences, LLC, Ithaca: GeneWeave Biosciences is commercializing a disruptive bacterial detection technology developed at Cornell University. The diagnostic testing technology will rapidly determine drug‐resistance and toxicity of bacteria with results accurate to the genetic level, while requiring no laboratory or expensive equipment, at one‐tenth the production costs of competitors. www.geneweavebio.com
- MicroGen, LLC, Ithaca: MicroGen’s energy harvester prototype chips are synergistic with batteries including advanced long‐life batteries. It harvests the energy created by vibrations which can then be used in a range of applications. They have successfully fabricated 3 wafer MEMS which have demonstrated increasing voltage, power and yield. www.microgensystems.com
- Sound Reading Solutions, LLC, Ithaca: Sound Reading Solutions provides Reading Therapy software to improve reading abilities in children and adults by using proprietary cognitive learning methods. Sound Reading creates Reading Therapy to effectively help the brain match sounds to the symbols on a written page. www.soundreading.com
Brand Yourself and MicroGen are portfolio companies of The Tech Garden / The Clean Tech Center.
