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HATCH Startup Pitch Competition Part 2

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HATCH: The pitch competition for tech startups with revolutionary ideas. Join our well-connected audience as the second group of finalists present their business plans and receive feedback from esteemed entrepreneur, corporate, angel, and venture investor judges. The audience weighs in with comments and votes using mobile and web.
The program spans three SXSW sessions providing networking opportunities with fans, team members, mentors, advisors, and investors.

Finalists are selected from a large pool of applicants from around the world. They prepare with education and coaching from experts to refine their business models and presentations to make the best possible pitch. Judges select winners after hearing all the presentations. Prizes include hosting services, tablets, investor meetings, media exposure, office space, consultations, and mentoring. HATCH alumni have raised funds and generally kicked ass.
Come see the best of the best!

Presenters

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Rahul Sood GM Microsoft

Rahul Sood
General Manager, Microsoft Bing Fund

Rahul Sood is the General Manager of Bing Fund, an angel fund with an incubator program that is backed by Microsoft’s Online Services Division.

Sood joined Microsoft in January of 2011 as a GM in the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. He created Bing Fund in February 2012.

A serial entrepreneur, Sood spent 18 years in multiple startups prior to joining Microsoft. He founded luxury and gaming computer manufacturer VoodooPC, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in September of 2006. Voodoo brought the ENVY product line to HP, contributing advanced technologies, such as commercial liquid cooling, and an increased focus on design.

Sood is a co-founder of BrightSquid Medical, a unique collaboration platform for medical professionals, which was subsequently acquired by NetworksMD. He co-founded BrightSquid Dental, which was spun out of the medical business in 2010. Sood also created BullsOnWallstreet, a trading and education platform for retail investors and traders, and he is an active angel investor in a number of small Canadian-based energy companies.

Sood’s personal passions include using technology to improve healthcare. He would like to assist in the development of technology-based toys that help children with autism discover new ways to communicate. He is also active in the entrepreneurial community, helping and mentoring a variety of startups.
Bing Fund was designed to help early stage startups build deep strategic relationships with Microsoft. Since its launch in July 2012 the Bing Fund has received over 1000 submissions from startups around the world. The Bing Fund team is also receiving an increasing number of requests to speak and participate on the ground floor at major industry venues including TechCrunch Disrupt, the Dublin Web Summit, 500 Startups, and many more.

In his spare time Sood enjoys wake surfing & wake boarding, paddleboarding, cycling, racing cars, and spending time with his family. He is a native of Calgary, Alberta.

You can find him on Twitter @rahulsood.