SUP-X: The StartUp Expo announced that it had formed a partnership with Pittsburgh based accelerator AlphaLab Gear and that it will host the Southeast Regional competition of AlphaLab Gear’s Hardware Cup, one of the country’s most prestigious startup competitions focused on hardware.
“We can’t wait to see who they select as finalists to compete at SUP-X,” said Bob Fitts, founder and producer of SUP-X, which is held at the Broward Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, each winter.
Six teams will be chosen from online applications to give a four-minute pitch in front a panel of Hardware Cup judges at SUP-X. Judges will have five minutes to ask questions and the teams are judged on commercial viability, team capability and demonstrated commitment. Regional finalists receive $3,000, a free one-year SOLIDWORKS license, as well as other prizes and a chance to win a $50,000 investment from Startbot VC at the Hardware Cup National Finals in May.
“The growth of IoT, the falling cost of sensors, and increased access to tools and resources through makerspaces like TechShop make it cheaper, faster, and easier than ever before to get a hardware startup off the ground,” said Ilana Diamond, managing director at AlphaLab Gear. "The goal of the Hardware Cup is to find and highlight the most promising hardware startups in the nation, and we can't wait to hit the road and see what talent is out there this year."
SUP-X and Fort Lauderdale join Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago and Austin as regional Hardware Cup hosts.
Startups interested in applying to the regional Hardware Cup competition at SUP-X may apply at http://www.alphalabgear.org/hardwarecup/.
SUP-X: The StartUp Expo is March 6-7, 2017, at the Broward Convention Center. SUP-X is a two-day, international startup and early-stage conference at the Greater Fort Lauderdale-Broward Convention Center. The event features a special “Diversity in Entrepreneurship Forum” to address the needs of those typically under-addressed in the startup and venture capital communities. SUP-X will also have about 18 speeches and panel discussions on topics of interest to investors and entrepreneurs alike, as well as its own startup competition with $50,000 in cash divided among three winners. Fifty startups from over three-dozen US cities will exhibit at SUP-X for free. Tickets to SUP-X range from $59-$399.
More information about SUP-X may be found at http://www.sup-x.org/ or by contacting info@sup-x.org.
There will be a free Miami kickoff event for SUP-X with a pitch contest on Jan. 26 at Building.co. More info and to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sup-x-2017-miami-dade-kickoff-party-startup-competition-tickets-30614306214
- Submitted by SUP-X: The StartUp Expo