By kristennicole on August 18, 2009 12:16 PM

Social Matchbox Launching 11 Startups in DC

Spurring the technology and web startup economy, especially in areas outside of the valley, is of particular interest to Social Matchbox, an event bridging entrepreneurs with industry professionals in the DC area. The group’s next event takes place Thursday, August 20th, and will feature the launching of eleven DC startups.

What started out as a job fair for startup founders seeking sweat equity and full-time, paid employees has evolved into a more inclusive event for debuting companies as well as networking with others in respective and cross-fields of interest. With two years of events for the startup community, Social Matchbox is moving its event to a new location and kicking off the autumn season with a renewed sense of encouragement for professionals out there.

As the concept of the Social Matchbox event is to provide a forum for professionals to share their stories and experiences, Social Matchbox hopes to stand out from other networking events in the DC area. Social Matchbox also hopes to connect people on a working business level, as some startup founders will be seeking co-founders and other types of business partners.

To start, Social Matchbox will begin with a series of 4 minute presentations, where the startups will actually launch their products. Four minutes of Q&A time will follow the presentations. Earlier stage startups will be able to appeal to the audience later in the evening during the Open Mic session, where they will have up to 90 seconds to give their elevator pitches.

The industry professionals that are expected to be at the event include those in advertising and design, marketing, human resources, QA, sales and software engineering. These reflect the areas that are of high interest to startups looking to expand their team or leverage areas of expertise outside of their current team.

There will also be venture capitalists in attendance, along with angel investors and members of the press. The Social Matchbox event takes place Thursday August, 20, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at E Street Cinema. See here for more details on attendance and participation.