Massachusetts Technovation Pitch Night took place on Wednesday, May 4, at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge, MA. MassTLC worked with Technovation to organize and run the event.
Thirty-nine teams of girls from across the state presented their app and business plans to judges in a poster session. The top ten teams seven high school and three middle school were chosen by the first round judges to pitch to the audience. The crowd moved to the funky eleventh floor of the NERD Center to listen to three minute pitches by each of the ten teams. Each team did an excellent job of speaking about their app, its social impact, audience, and business potential. At the end of each pitch, the three finalist judges were able to ask questions of the team.
At the end of the night, the top three high school teams were chosen, and the top three middle school teams were ranked. Winners can be seen here.
Middle school winners Electric Shock makes their pitch
High school winners Mango Drive celebrate
Every year, Technovation challenges girls all over the world to build a mobile app that will address a community problem. Since 2010, 5,000 girls from 28 countries have submitted to Technovation. Each team has a coach, usually a teacher or parent. In addition, mentors from the business community are assigned to teams to work with the girls through the Technovation twelve week curriculum in app design, coding in App Inventor, and entrepreneurship.