TechPitch whiteSix startup finalists will compete for the $5,000 grand prize during Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) fifth annual TechPitch from 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Alex Madonna Expo Center in San Luis Obispo.

TechPitch, a collaborative event involving several Cal Poly and local area entities, aims to give local startups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a group of investors and industry professionals.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for San Luis Obispo county startups to present to investors and win cash,” said Judy Mahan, director of the Cal Poly’s Small Business Development Center and the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s Incubator. “Techpitch showcases up-and-coming innovations, and I think it has become a key piece to stimulating and growing our tech industry locally. It’s a great show, and it provides the participating startups with fantastic exposure.”

The following startups have been chosen to present at the TechPitch Competition (listed alphabetically):

  • Bottlefly — Uses technology to change the way people purchase wine in the retail environment. Bottlefly is software for supermarkets that drives sales by providing targeted recommendations to shoppers.
  • Flume Developed a non-invasive water meter attachment that relays real-time water usage information to the homeowner via mobile and Web applications.
  • Ground Level Data – Uses computer vision technology to give data and analysis based on a farmer’s perspective to improve efficiencies. Ground Level Data can track life-cycle changes on the growers’ crop and analyze it to provide accurate harvest forecasts up to three weeks in advance.
  • Higea Technologies — Uses patent-pending magnetic nanotechnology to clean up oceanic oil spills quickly, cheaply and in a more environmentally friendly manner.
  • N8SteinCo — Developed a product to help restaurants significantly reduce the amount of water and time that food service workers use to pre-rinse dirty dishes, resulting in significant cost-savings.
  • Welkio — Visitor sign-in software for offices. Replaces the traditional sign-in book, and streamlines the front desk sign-in process.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Lynda Weinman, founder of Lynda.com, who recently sold her company to LinkedIn for $1.5 billion.

The public is invited to attend TechPitch. Tickets are is $15 for students, $45 for individuals, or $300 per table of eight. Appetizers will be provided. To register, go to www.techpitch.org.

TechPitch is organized by the Cal Poly Small Business Development Center for Innovation, Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Softec, Economic Vitality Corp., San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce.  Event sponsors include Brett Whitaker, Hicks Pension Services, First Capital Bank, Heritage Oaks Bank, Pacific Western Bank, Experts Exchange, Madonna Inn, Coast National Bank, Morris & Garritano, SoCal IP and Glenn Burdette.