DEMO spreads the start-up love for bootstrapped companies

Today, the DEMO Conference raises a flag for bootstrapped start-ups by announcing a brand-new sponsor program, “Angel Alley.” As any first-time entrepreneurs will tell you, the seed-stage investor circuit is by far the hardest circle to break into since your product is not quite there and investors really must take a large leap of faith to partner with your young business. Angel Alley was created specifically to help these pre-seed start-ups gain an audience with the prime-time investors and members of the media that the DEMO Conference attracts.

Knowing that bootstrapped start-up founders typically are living off of Ramen noodles and pizza, the cost to participate in Angel Alley is $0! This was made possible by generous support of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), which is sponsoring all 10 booths at Angel Alley. “The Angel Alley program is very much in line with our goals for our new wsgr|SOMA office and a great way to support early-stage companies and give them an opportunity to get in front of the right people,” says Todd Carpenter, a partner in WSGR’s new SOMA office.”

Now for the fun part—a little competition! If you are a bootstrapped start-up without any professional angel investment, make sure to apply by September 7 using the super simple form located here: http://bit.ly/Nr4rB2

A team of judges will select up to 30 companies from the broader applicant pool to pitch to a panel of VCs and start-up founders at the wsgr|SOMA offices at 139 Townsend Street on September 18. The top 10 companies from the pitch competition will be invited to attend the DEMO Conference on October 1-3 to participate in the Angel Alley program.

“This is an amazing new opportunity for bootstrapped start-ups to show off their stuff at Demo and attract the attention of the media and angel investors at the conference,” said Neal Silverman, executive producer of DEMO.

The 10 winners will have tables front and center to the main pavilion at DEMO, where these start-ups can show off what they have been working on. As an added bonus, one of the start-ups in Angel Alley will be selected to present an Alpha-Pitch based on an audience vote.

Apply now at http://bit.ly/Nr4rB2.

For more information about the DEMO Conference, October 1-3, 2012, go to www.demo.com.