Founder_Hotseat_splashOK, sports fans. Or, should we say, startup fans!

Grab a box of popcorn, and some soda pop. It’s time for the GeekWire founder hotseat pitch session with Founder Institute CEO and noted entrepreneur Adeo Ressi.

Over the course of the next hour, Ressi will be hearing your entrepreneurial pitches, providing raw feedback and offering insights on where you could improve your sales pitch or business model.

Check out the action here:


We will be tuning in, and Adeo will be on the lookout for the very best presentation. The winning pitch will receive one of the coveted Startup Demo Zone slots at next Friday’s big Startup Day event in Seattle ($550 value). They’ll also earn the “GeekWire Pitch Fellowship,” allowing the entrepreneur to enroll for free in a Founder Institute program of their choice ($1,000 value).

Adeo Ressi
Adeo Ressi

Who is Adeo Ressi?

Well, you may best know him as the CEO of the Founder Institute, the startup accelerator and entrepreneur training program. But Adeo also is the creator of TheFunded.com, a controversial site that serves as an exclusive community for entrepreneurs to rate and review venture capitalists.

He’s started and helped build eight companies over the years, including Game Trust which was acquired by RealNetworks in 2007. Adeo is regarded as an expert on early-stage startups and venture capital, quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired and Fortune.

Good luck to all of the entrepreneurs today!

And, if you’re looking for more entrepreneurial insight and advice, make sure to check out GeekWire’s Startup Day on Oct. 25th.

UPDATE: Here are Adeo Ressi’s two top picks, with one sentence descriptions below. Thanks to everyone for tuning in!

1. WINNER: Shipville.com, Portland, Andrew Kalpakis
“My company, Shipville.com, is developing an ecommerce application to help small and mid-sized ecommerce business’ expand internationally with an international checkout API and package forwarding service”
2. RUNNER-UP: Vivify, Seattle, Paul Travis
“My company, Vivify LLC, is developing a mobile app to help single females to date new men (strangers) without fear because of our automated check-in software”
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