Security Innovators Throwdown
Description:
After a successful launch at the 2009 SC World Congress, the Security Innovators Throwdown is returning again in 2010, but with an added and appealing twist. During the run-up to the third annual SC World Congress, to be held November 10-11, 2010, we're sweetening the competition by adding mini-heats.
As in last year's competition, we'll be looking to honor the brightest information security companies that have recently launched through the live Security Innovators Throwdown competition - during which leading young companies, chosen by us, will present their goals for their newly developed technologies or services before a judging panel of experts. Our judges, just as last year, will determine which vendors among the competitors have the most considered business plans and most robust tools that not only could garner interest from buyers, but also possible investment from venture capitalists (VCs).
For this year's event, we are seeking calls for participation from innovative companies to schedule a series of smaller Throwdown webcasts throughout the year in the run-up to the SC World Congress. The webcast Throwdowns will be run exactly the same as the live one, but the 10 top finalists - as selected by our judging panel across all of the smaller Throwdowns - will appear at the main event during the 2010 SC World Congress in November.
As with last year, for showcasing their offerings, those innovators ranked at the top of the group will be featured in SC Magazine as part of a special section that will discuss the evolution of the information security market and their places in it. And, because the event's audience will be seeded with VCs interested in this vibrant market, those participants leading the pack might even be able to seal a deal before the event is over.
The ultimate goal of this SC World Congress happening, then, is to help find ground-breaking cybersecurity technologies and services, showcase them before the industry, and educate and gather the venture capital and investor community to support continuing innovation.
For the Security Innovators Throwdown event, SC Magazine will create a rating based on judges' scores for each finalist. The scores and overall rating will be based on the criteria that entrants must detail in their submissions, the directions for which are noted at the end of this document.
Security Innovators Throwdown summary:
SC Magazine will be reaching out with a call for participation for innovators to come forward and share their new, ground-breaking cybersecurity technologies with us. No idea is too big or too small. However, we do have some very specific guidelines for who or what we consider innovative.
We are looking for individuals or start-up companies that want their technologies seen, critiqued and championed through the influential power and industry reach of SC Magazine.
From what we hope will be hundreds of innovators, we will, with a board of judges chosen by us, pick the top 20 innovators. They will first have a chance to enter the Security Innovators Throwdown online version in the run-up to the SC World Congress, and have their new product or service gain the hugely valuable insight and feedback from our panel of expert judges.
The top 10 innovators will move ahead to the main event - the Security Innovators Throwdown at the SC World Congress. And, if their offering is intriguing enough, it may even catch the eye of an invited cluster of VCs, angel investors and others that might be looking to back the next big thing.
From there, the top five innovators from the Security Innovators Throwdown will then be featured in a special section of SC Magazine after the SC World Congress has ended.
Security Innovators Throwdown event:
The 20 finalists in the Security Innovators Throwdown will have a chance to make their pitch to our judging panel in the online webcast. Each finalist will have five minutes to pitch, can have one other person with them, and will be obliged to answer follow-up questions from the panel after their presentation. Each will then be awarded a score based on a set of pre-defined criteria. From all of the online Throwdowns, the top 10 will be chosen to appear at the Security Innovators Throwdown live event held during the 2010 SC World Congress, which will use the same pitch process, only live.
The Security Innovators Throwdown will open for two hours each day of the SC World Congress on the trade show floor. As part of this event, SC Magazine will be encouraging many U.S.-based VCs to be present in the audience. This means that not only do the finalists get the benefit of the constructive feedback from industry judges, and possible coverage in SC Magazine, but also a significant opportunity to promote their technologies to VCs that may wish to fund them.
Judging panel:
· Illena Armstrong, editor-in-chief, SC Magazine
· Becky Bace, president & CEO, Infidel
· Peter Stephenson, technology editor, SC Magazine
· Robert Rodriguez, chairman and founder, Security Innovation Network
· Greg Bell, principal, KPMG
Rules of the Security Innovators Throwdown:
Rule #1: The pitch
Innovators must start the meeting by stating their name, the name of the business, what their funding requirements generally are, and the scale of their needs to get their business off the ground.
They must follow this with a pitch of up to five minutes. If it exceeds five minutes, the panel can stop innovators at any point, but they cannot interrupt the initial pitch.
Rule #2: The Q & A
Innovators DO NOT have to answer all the questions asked, but what they do or do not choose to answer may affect the outcome - for example, if they refuse to reveal net profits.
Rule #3: Privacy
As this is an open forum, no innovator should expect that the information they discuss will not be shared with others or otherwise reported on.
Throwdown eligibility:
Nominated companies should be new to the IT security field, offering at least one strong product that is within one year of its initial release. Nominees can come from any IT security product/service sector and will be continuing their efforts in further product development, customer growth and overall fiscal and employee growth.
Criteria for entering
To be considered to participate in the event, you will need to submit a concise, but informative one-page document that:
- Articulates the value proposition of your product/service. We're not looking for a mission statement. We want to understand why this product or service is important. Why would people pay for this solution? Who needs it and why? What pain points does it address for these potential customers? And why would they look to get it from your company? And remember, this moves beyond just the bells and whistles of your offering. We need to understand not only its technical viability, but also the company's wider market viability.
- Describe your team. Who do you have in place? What IT security experts and business experts are leading your company to ensure that it flourishes? What is their experience?
- Elucidate the market in which your product/service plays. How big is it? Where does your product/service play? Who are your competitors? How is your offering different from these competitors? What is your long-term strategy for development and growth within this wider ecosystem?
- If you're seeking investors, how much money will your product/service take? What are the terms of such funding? What are your strategies to ensure that your company flourishes from that investment?
- All submission materials and questions should go through noted representatives from SC Magazine. Contacting any of our judges directly about anything to do with the Security Innovators Throwdown will result in immediate disqualification for consideration or participation in the competition.
- Please send completed submission materials to Eric Green, program director, SC World Congress, at callforpapers@haymarketmedia.com.Materials submitted will be limited to information shared in an official quad-chart, which will be supplied by SC Magazine and will be the only document to be used during any presentations for the Security Innovators Throwdown. If you have questions about the competition, you can email Eric (eric.green@haymarketmedia.com) or contact Illena Armstrong, editor-in-chief, SC Magazine, Illena.armstrong@haymarketmedia.com.