DFJ, Draper Triangle Ventures and DFJ Gotham Ventures Award $350,000 to Winners of First Annual East Coast Venture Challenge

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading early-stage venture firms DFJ and its affiliates Draper Triangle and DFJ Gotham hosted the first annual DFJ East Coast Venture Challenge on Monday at Columbia Business School. Entrepreneurs from all eight Ivy League schools, along with New York University and Carnegie Mellon University, competed in the event. Each team presented their business to an audience of nine judges and two hundred spectators, with five of the teams being selected to compete in the final round. Awards were given to the top two finalists.

“It was an exceptional event; the teams were impressive, the audience crowded and the opportunity to receive feedback from nine venture capitalists unparalleled”

SteriCoat, from Princeton University, won the grand prize, receiving $250,000 of seed financing and free office space for up to six months. Additionally, the judges were so impressed with GreenWare, a competing team from Columbia University, that they awarded a $100,000 second place prize to the company.

“The East Coast is packed with talented entrepreneurs; the teams at the East Coast Venture Challenge proved that,” said Tim Draper, Managing Director of DFJ. “The DFJ Network is committed to supporting these visionaries on the East Coast and around the globe.”

Joel Moxley, one of the founders of SteriCoat, stated “The teams competing at this event were all excellent companies poised to become leaders in their respective fields. We were honored to participate in the event and excited to emerge as the winner amongst such stiff competition.”

“It was an exceptional event; the teams were impressive, the audience crowded and the opportunity to receive feedback from nine venture capitalists unparalleled,” stated Michael Dwork, the founder of GreenWare. “All of us were completely surprised when the judges announced that they were going to award $100,000 to the second place team. We were honored to win that award and look forward to working with the prestigious DFJ Network.”

Angel investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and service providers were in attendance, providing all competitors the opportunity to find funding and other resources. In addition, the event was attended by representatives from the event’s sponsors, including law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (www.wsgr.com), human resources outsourcing provider Administaff (www.administaff.com) and New York office space provider Sunshine Suites (www.sunshineny.com). Columbia Business School is also a sponsor of the event (www.gsb.columbia.edu).

For more information, visit: http://www.dfj.com/eastcoastvc.

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital firm, and its affiliates have offices in more than 30 cities globally and over $4.5 billion in capital commitments. DFJ has backed over 300 companies across many sectors, including Hotmail, Baidu, Skype, Overture, and Massive.

DFJ Gotham Ventures

DFJ Gotham is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology companies in the greater New York region.

DFJ Triangle Ventures

Draper Triangle Ventures provides funding for high-technology start-up companies in the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Midwest regions.