Washington Technology Industry Association Announces Bellingham First Look Forum Finalists

SEATTLE, Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), Washington state's unifying voice for the technology community, today revealed the top 12 early-stage startup companies who made the cut to showcase their ideas at this year's Fall First Look Forum™. These finalists will present to a packed audience of angel, venture, and investment firms at The Bellingham Golf and Country Club on November 18^th. A combination of audience votes and a panel of judges will determine the winner of the event who will be awarded a $10,000 grand prize.

The forum allows entrepreneurs to receive critical feedback to help them hone their pitches before hitting the fundraising circuit. Each of the finalists will be coached on their business plans, their presentations, and pitch techniques.

"First Look Forum has operated in Seattle for eight years. It's high time we take this great event on the road to reach more companies and investors in the region. Bellingham government, education, and industry leaders have been fantastic partners," said Michael Schutzler, CEO of WTIA. "We are also pumped up about the wide diversity of products and cities represented in this exciting field of new companies."

These top entrepreneurs earned the opportunity to introduce their innovations for the very first time at the 2014 WTIA Fall First Look Forum™:

1. Anera (Vancouver BC) – securely manages telecom service provider's virtualized wireless core network (SDN / NFV) with hybrid and cloud deployments, which results in an OpEx business model.
2. Fun-Da.co (Portland) – created a mobile media engine that connects parents to what their children are playing and watching to create enriching stories and toys that truly engage and educate children.
3. Kirkland Analytics (Spokane) – is a plug-and-play, real-time water management system that allows companies like Costco to save over 20 percent on water use and manage water like inventory.
4. MetricStory (Seattle) – MetricStory turns numbers and graphs from Google Analytics into an easily read narrative report, and allows people to understand how their web businesses are performing.
5. Proactive Immune Sciences Corp (Vancouver BC) – offers healthy individuals the opportunity to bank their immune cells, giving them a chance to improve their outcomes should they contract cancer or other immune related diseases.
6. PurpleWall (Seattle) – is an online platform enabling residents to have their dream room remotely decorated by an interior designer who complements their style and budget.
7. React Mobile (Seattle) – transforms the way people call for help in an emergency by providing security and peace of mind at user's fingertips when it matters most. 
8. SpeechAce (Seattle) – SpeechAce is an app that teaches correct American English pronunciation and eliminates accents one word at a time.
9. Sqoop, Inc. (Mercer Island) – attracts business journalists throughout the country by saving them hours currently spent repetitively searching for story ideas and filtering PR pitches.
10. TruMedicines (Sammamish) – is a secure mobile image recognition service that verifies the authenticity of a pharmaceutical.
11. Unoceros (Seattle) – turns mobile devices into data-center-like instances for use in high performance computing by rewarding device owners for participation.
12. VanAir Design (Vancouver BC) – developed an enhanced interior door that allows air to flow through it while shut, and maintains visual and acoustical privacy in an aesthetic manner.

Past First Look Forum™ participants including StratoScientific, MagiKflix, and Fastbar continue to build their businesses in Washington. StratoScientific has received national recognition including a feature on Jimmy Fallon's Fallonventions, meanwhile, Fastbar has raised $35,000 in funding. MagiKflix was recently accepted into TechStars and will present at the event to give an update to the investors and help inspire the entrepreneurs.

The WTIA tapped into its network of partners and sponsors from across the state to bring the forum to Bellingham including The NW Innovation Resource Center who will co-host the program.

First Look Forum™ is an invite-only event open to accredited investors and WTIA Entrepreneur members. For details on the WTIA's Entrepreneur Membership and how to become a member, visit: http://www.washingtontechnology.org/companies/#membership. To learn more about this and other events, check out: http://www.washingtontechnology.org/firstlookforum/.

About the Washington Technology Industry Association
Founded in 1984, the WTIA is a not-for profit industry trade association that supports technology companies and professionals, acting as a catalyst for growth and awareness of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Washington State. The WTIA helps Washington technology companies prosper through three major strategic initiatives: advocacy, workforce development and fostering technology-based economic growth in the State of Washington. For more information, visit http://www.washingtontechnology.org.

Melissa Boggs
Barokas Public Relations for WTIA
[email protected]
+1-206-344-3135

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SOURCE Washington Technology Industry Association