The Seattle-based investor and entrepreneur network Zino Society hosted its fourth annual Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum today at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle. The event drew 28 companies, some in technology and some non-tech, each making a pitch for a chance to win one of two $50,000 investment prizes.
Here are the six finalists in the two categories, announced by the Zino Society at a reception this afternoon:
Technology—Photon Machines, Enroute, and Giftango.
(I wrote about Portland, OR-based Giftango raising $500,000 from the Oregon Angel Fund earlier this week.)
Non-technology—MicroGreen Polymers, Harbor Wing, and Zero Crossing.
(Luke profiled Arlington, WA-based MicroGreen earlier this summer, when the company raised $1.6 million from WRF Capital and local angel investors.)
The winner of each category, who will receive $50,000, will be announced in late October, after Zino Society members perform due digilence on the finalists. Stay tuned…
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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