Bing-MassChallenge Startup Showcase at SXSW

Last week at South by Southwest Interactive, Bing hosted an awesome startup showcase for MassChallenge, the world’s largest startup accelerator & competition.

John Harthorne, the man behind MassChallenge, admitted he might be a bit biased, but called it “the best party I’ve been to at SXSW.”The weather cooperated (the sun finally came out and it was beautiful!), there was a great crowd (over 700 people!) and it was an awesome party. A hugely successful opportunity for MassChallenge to invite people at SXSW to a VIP conference.

The showcase featured four 2011 MassChallenge graduates – all amazing BizSpark startups:

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The Tap Lab promoted their new game – Tap City 2: a multi-player city-building game with a real-world twist. You can actually buy and own the places you visit in real life. Think: monopoly for the real world.

At the showcase, people were coming up to them, asking them how they can get early access and actually downloading their game on the spot. They connected with investors and brands in a fun environment, or, as their CEO, Dave Bisceglia, put it:

“Bumpin’ beats & tech geeks”

(photo: Ralph Shao, Starielle Newman, Dave Bisceglia)

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Libboo had likely the coolest booth at all of SXSW –

Make your own sock puppet!  

The Bing-MassChallenge showcase gave Libboo a platform for people to see who they are: a one-stop shop for publishing your books.

It was a great atmosphere. “Chilled out, fun and energetic,” according to Chris Howard, Libboo’s CEO, “People were in a great mood so it made it easy to network.”

Note: we always strive for both chilled out and energetic!

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Vsnap was represented by the amazing Trish Fontanilla, who loved the relaxed environment. People can grab a drink, have something to eat – once they’re relaxed and satisfied they’re more open to hearing your message. Which, for Vsnap, who lets you send short, personal video messages, is what it’s all about.

And finally, RelayRides who impressively brought one of their cars to the showcase. Where else but the Bing Lot could you drive your car right onto the showcase?

Thank you, Bing for this amazing event!

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Learn more about:

• MassChallenge - applications for 2012 now open!
• BizSpark – fast tracking the success of your startup with software, support & visibility