Four Startups Selected to Pitch at StartupCamp5 in Miami

MIAMI - Four early-stage companies have been selected for coveted presentation slots at next week’s StartupCamp5: Comm Edition, collocated with ITEXPO East, taking place February 1-3, in Miami.

The fifth edition of StartupCamp Comms is a fast-paced, “ready, set, pitch” event that gives early-stage entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their communications innovations to an audience of industry leaders, media and investors. A panel of experts, including PhoneTag founder Jamie Siminoff and Cbeyond co-founder Brooks Robinson, along with the live audience will actively provide feedback, and help choose a winner for the night.

The selected companies range widely in the problems their solving and this year, even in the countries in which they were founded:

• Townhall 140 was founded with the singular goal of harnessing technology to promote civic engagement. Launched out of the Harvard Innovation Lab in November 2011, the Townhall 140 virtual platform integrates video technology with real-time voting to bring constituents face-to-face with political influencers on the issues that matter.
• CallTrunk sees the spoken word as the ‘left-behind’ in the march of technology. While searchable records of written conversations are standard, talking -- our most natural form of communicating albeit one that allows room for error, uncertainty and dispute -- has fallen between the cracks. Based in London, CallTrunk’s mission is to make the spoken word accountable and verifiable, capturing spoken conversations by automatically recording phone calls, securely storing them on the web and openly integrating with leading productivity applications.
• Vernoa, based in Israel, believes that the Internet is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity. And therefore should be compared to usage base utility services such as Electricity, Gas and Water. Yet unlike other utilities, the demand for capacity will always exceed availability, making it a must for service providers to manage user expectation and their networks. Vernoa will provide the only service to offer smart-meter like functionality for telecommunications carriers.
• LawLoop.com revolutionizes legal enterprise software by fully integrating the next generation of front and back-office software, in the cloud, through an online business-networking platform. LawLoop.com allows legal professionals to communicate and share documents seamlessly and securely and to more efficiently manage billable time-keeping, bank accounts, and client invoices.

StartupCamp co-founder Larry Lisser said that as always, a wide crop of entrepreneurs pitched their visions in trying to secure one of the presentation slots. “While I never enjoy having to say no to any of the companies bidding for a spot, it always a thrill to see just how many entrepreneurs is building communications-oriented startups. Not only here in the US, but across the world,” he added.