Oct 23
COLUMBUS, OH – October 24, 2012 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialists, took first place and $5,000 in prize money for the Elevator Pitch Olympics during the recent Great Lakes Venture Fair held in downtown Cleveland.
Nine companies pitched their businesses to a panel of investor/judges for about as long as it takes to ride an elevator from the lobby to the 50th floor (90 seconds). The panelists then scored the efforts and awarded prizes to the top three pitches.
Brand Thunder’s winning pitch addressed three key points: 1) , the accelerating growth of the business and its current top-tier client list; 2) the three audiences who benefit from Brand Thunder themes (the end user, the client and Brand Thunder); and 3) knowing exactly where additional capital would be applied even though the company is not currently seeking funds.
“We’re coming off another record year,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder, who made the award-winning pitch. “When you give a snapshot of the brands using our product, the value proposition and our accelerating growth, it’s a compelling story – and one we’ve become very practiced at telling.”
Judges scored each company on a scale of 1-10 for how likely they would be to take a meeting with the company based on the substance of pitch and on their presentation skills. They then gave each contestant instant feedback ala American Idol judging.
Brand Thunder was praised by judges for Murphy’s presentation skills and the concise way in which he described the company’s offering.
“Patrick came across as sure of himself without being full of himself,” said Bob Gilbreath, executive in residence with CincyTech and one of the judges.
Along with Gilbreath, Elevator Pitch Olympic judges included Brian Duncan, venture partner with Arboretum Ventures, Lynn-Ann Gries, chief investment officer with JumpStart and Christopher Sklarin, investment manager with Edison Ventures.
Two companies, First Biotech and Lisnr, tied for second place and split the $3500 cash prize for second.
This was the first year for the Great Lakes Venture Fair, which followed the annual meeting of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds in Cleveland. The event brought together some 100 of the highest potential entrepreneurs and venture-backable companies from Ohio and the Midwest with more than 100 potential investors. The program showcased the best of the region’s vigorous startup and investment activity and included discussions focused on driving future growth for the region’s entrepreneurial eco-system.
With more than 200 world-class brands already listed as clients, Brand Thunder’s interactive themes provide an extreme makeover of the Internet browser. They are free, lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality.
About Brand Thunder:
Brand Thunder is the world leader in browser themes and custom interactive browser themes for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome. Brand Thunder formed in April 2007 to leverage the power of customization within the web browser and offer companies a compelling, patent-pending solution for creating a more persistent presence with their Internet consumer. Brand Thunder has branded the browser and extended its functionality for some of the most recognizable brands in sports, music and the Internet including: Bob Marley, CBSSports.com College Network, CollegeHumor, The Huffington Post, IGN, MLB.com, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, SONY Music, Universal Music, WeatherBug and many more. Create, find or have us build your browser theme at http://brandthunder.com.
Contact:
Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-304-1316
###
Posted in Press Releases | Tags: Arboretum Ventures, brand thunder, CincyTech, GLVF, great lakes venture fair, jumpstart, Patrick Murphy, techcolumbus, venture fair, Web browser | No Comments »
RSS
Twitter
YouTube
Facebook
