Rackspace’s start-up comp Small Teams, Big Impact announces finalists; awards held Sept 11

September 4 2014, 9:49 am | BY Ricki Green | No Comments

cover_small-teams-big-impact-14.jpgRackspace Hosting has announced the finalists for the Small Teams Big Impact award.

Six finalists have been selected by three independent guest judges based on key criteria – Innovation, Disruption and Market:

  • Elex Ratio, a legal professional services organisation offering consulting and systems integration services to Courts around the world.
  • Makers Empire, developers of 3D printing software for schools and learning applications.
  • Pasa, an e-commerce platform that aims at assisting ethical co-operatives in low-income countries in exporting their products all over the world.
  • RecycleSmart, an organisation that specialises in providing visual bin inspections, community engagement and incentives for households to dispose of waste more consciously.
  • Today We Learned, an application designed to encourage parent engagement in school education.
  • Wattcost, a new Australian energy saving technology that provides real-time control of home electricity costs from a smartphone or tablet device.

The Small Teams Big Impact awards support small start-up businesses with big potential in Australia and New Zealand, and takes place in Sydney on 11 September 2014. The winner will receive the coveted Small Teams Big Impact 2014 winner’s trophy, a return ticket to San Francisco with four nights’ accommodation, a visit to Silicon Valley, and video interview in Robert Scoble’s recording studio.

 

Melissa Widner, co-founder of Heads Over Heels and general partner at Seapoint Ventures, has also been confirmed as a new member of the judging panel. Widner joins Rackpace Startup liaison officer Robert Scoble, Ben Chong at Sydney Seed Fund and Founder Institute, Mark Carnegie from M.H. Carnegie & Co. and Chris Ridd from Xero.