Innovate!100 Semi-finalists to Pitch in Paris on April 26

SAN FRANCISCO and PARIS, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovate!2010 is a global competition produced by Guidewire Group, the world's leading analyst firm focused exclusively on startups and emerging markets, to identify and promote 100 top technology startups from around the world. On April 26, Paris will play host to the eleventh regional 'Pitch Slam' event in the Innovate!2010 series.

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Taking place at the Microsoft Conference Centre, the Paris Pitch Slam will feature two rounds of rapid-fire pitches by Innovate!100 semi-finalists. At each session, the semi-finalists will receive invaluable feedback from a panel of expert judges that includes Amina Belghiti (Head of Developer Platform and New Ventures for Europe, PayPal), Nicolas Debock (Innovation and Strategy, Xange), Martin Duval (Founder and CEO, bluenove), Laurent Perriault (Partner, MGT), Sam Rosenbalm (Director of Community Development, Emerging Business Team, Microsoft), Roxanne Varza (Editor, Techcrunch France), Matteo Rizzi (Innovation Leader, SWIFT), Chipper Boulas (Founder and Managing Director, Boulas Ventures), Stephanie Bouchet (Founder, RougeFrog), and Guillaume Berthet (idEES and BizSpark startups, Microsoft).

Startups will be evaluated using Guidewire Group's proprietary G/Score™ assessment methodology, and the G/Scores from the Paris Slam will be aggregated with the results from over 20 other Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam events being held this year to determine the Innovate!100 -- an elite list of the top 100 technology, media and communications startups.

Confirmed Innovate!100 semi-finalists presenting at the Paris Pitch Slam as of April 25 include:

Allmyapps: Solution that enables users to install and reinstall all their desktop applications safely and easily.

Beezbox: Real-time social business platform to promote engagement with customers and partners.

Bookioo World: Online dating site that takes a "women-driven" approach that enables women to coordinate plans and meet people with more privacy and security.

COORP: Private social networks, services and media that enable sports clubs to promote participation by their fans and sponsors.

EcoVadis: Collaborative platform, allowing companies to assess the environmental and social performance of their suppliers on a global basis.

Flipstory.com: Allows any user to upload and edit a digital video clip, then receive it on a paper "flipbook."

Gekko: Personalized hotel recommendation engine to find, compare and book in various cities.

Hop-Cube: Develops a scoring system called HopScore that evaluates the eco-awareness of products.

Intelen: Innovative solutions for energy measuring, decision methodology and data mining to promote energy efficiency and CO2 reduction.

Leetchi.com: Web application that allows a group of friends to pitch in to buy a gift together.

Novapost: Electronic HR documents distribution and archiving systems for the employee as well as for the employer. 

Openchain: Web-based certification tool for international trade and customs compliance.

Silentale: Offers a simple way to efficiently store, search and retrieve critical information from diverse contact and message sources.

SmartGrains: Develops ParkSense, a system composed of ground-mounted sensor units and wireless guidance signs that automatically guides drivers to vacant parking spots.

Sparkom: Platform that connects computer users with service providers and friends who can offer the technical help users require easily, instantaneously and by screen sharing. 

Stupeflix: Turns digital content (images, text, audio, videos) into custom-tailored, broadcast-quality videos.

SubMate: Online application that allows train commuters to discover each other.

Tellmewhere: Mobile application that combines Facebook and local search to help you discover places you'll like and share your experiences with your friends.

Tryane: Collaboration metrics for corporate performance.

Ulteo: Develops an open source virtual desktop solution for the enterprise.

Wozaik: Web service that turns any fragment of your favorite Web sites into visual, interactive and automatically updated bookmarks. 

Yatedo: Search engine based on semantic technology that helps users keep track of their information that is dispersed across the Web, organize it, and build a public global profile that summarizes their online activity based on their privacy settings.

Further information on the Innovate!2010 program and the schedule of upcoming Pitch Slam events can be found at www.innovate100.com. To attend the Paris Pitch Slam, sign up online at: http://2010pitchslamparis.eventbrite.com/.

About Innovate!2010

Innovate!2010 is a global competition to identify and promote the top 100 global technology start-ups. The program enables the most promising startups to gain access to resources and opportunities to accelerate the growth of their companies. Innovate!2010 also enables its partners, including technology and telecommunications vendors, government agencies, professional services providers, technology scouts and investors, to identify and engage hundreds of highly vetted, fast-growing startups and raise their brand profile in the global startup community. Innovate!2010 sponsors and partners include leading organizations like Alacatel-Lucent, BestBuy, Cisco Systems, Comcast, DifferenceEngine, eBay, EMC, HP, HSBC, Hearst, IBM, LaPoste, LG Electronics, Microsoft, O2 Litmus, Oracle, PayPal, PWC, Quickstart Global, RIM, SAP, Silicon Valley Bank, Sony, SWIFT, Turner Broadcasting, Verizon, and the City of Zaragoza; as well as European and US economic development agencies, and dozens of leading angel and venture capital investors.

About Guidewire Group, Inc.

Guidewire Group is a global market intelligence and advisory firm passionate about technology

entrepreneurship. Our exclusive focus on early-stage companies and emerging technology markets drives insight and opportunity to our clients and community. At the heart of our offerings is the G/Score™, a proprietary assessment tool that brings clarity and focus to the art of transforming ideas into successful enterprises. Developed over the course of more than 20,000 startup interviews, the G/Score has proven to be a reliable predictor of startup viability and promise. Our G/Score data helps technology investors, customers and platform vendors rapidly qualify and respond to startup deal flow from even thousands of startups. Our G/Score assessment tools help startups, investors, service providers and government agencies to identify and benchmark competitive strengths and weaknesses, and our Studio G business acceleration programs helps startups achieve their growth objectives with clarity of purpose, speed and efficiency.

For more information, contact Vanessa McDonald, [email protected], +44 (0)754 032 5319.

SOURCE Guidewire Group, Inc.