Deadline closes in for GiGse LaunchPad entries

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Gaming industry professionals have less than two weeks to enter the running for the popular LaunchPad competition at GiGse next month in San Francisco, California, at the Hyatt Regency.

Clarion Events Ltd – which is organizing GiGse in partnership with GamCrowd LTD, the industry’s crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing platform – has reminded those interested in competing for the prestigious award that the cut-off point for applications via the www.gigse.com website is March 15.

Following the deadline, the list of real-money and social gaming start-ups will be whittled down to a final five who will pitch to an investors’ panel and an audience of potential partners on April 22 on the final day of GiGse, which will start on April 20.

The selected start-ups will receive advice on fine-tuning their pitches before being grilled by the panel of experts on the day. The winner will be selected through an audience vote.

The judging panel will include GamCrowd chairman Ian Hogg, Caesars Interactive Entertainment chief financial officer Craig Abrahams and Bullpen Capital managing partner Paul Martino.

“The success of some of the companies that debuted at the LaunchPad has proved that concepts such as the EiG and GiGse LaunchPad and Pitch ICE work as a way to highlight innovation in the industry and spearhead new business models,” Hogg said.

Former participants in the LaunchPad include Imperus, which recently acquired Diwip; BlueBat Games, which has been acquired by Greentube; and Element Wave, which has signed multiple gaming clients for their mobile marketing platform.

Rob Gallo, the CEO and founder of Neo Poker Lab, the winner of the 2014 GiGse LaunchPad, added: “The experience was fantastic. It put our name on the map for sure and opened doors to some of the bigger gaming suppliers.”