Grand Circus Offers Entrepreneurs Chance To Pitch To Google
By Edward Cardenas
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - The first step to pitching an idea to Google for local tech entrepreneurs starts with Google Demo Day at Grand Circus in Detroit.
Grand Circus, which offers training, co-working, and event hosting in downtown Detroit, will host a local Google Demo Day in January to pitch their businesses.
"It is an opportunity for a local start-ups to go to Google to be on an international stage and pitch to a room of the most powerful venture capitalists in the world," said Grand Circus CEO Damien Rocchi.
This is the second year Grand Circus has hosted a local Demo Day. Developers of iRule, which created an app that allows consumers to use smartphones and tablets to control devices such as lights and televisions, won the initial local event.
The Detroit-based company eventually secured $100,000 from former AOL founder Steve Case.
"That has been transformative for them," Rocchi said.
Entrepreneurs have until Jan. 12 to apply for Demo Day. To qualify, businesses must be actively seeking funding, must be raising a Series A round (which is defined between $1-$4 million) and must be a software-related business.
Semi-finalists selected from those entries will pitch their businesses at the Grand Circus Demo Day. From those presentations, three startups will be nominated and Google will select one or two businesses to pitch in Mountain View.
For more information about the program, or to apply, visit the Google Demo Day website.
