Yesterday, the eight semi-finalists for the 2020 Capitalize Contest, powered by Accenture and Sacramento Urban Technology Lab, visited Golden 1 Center for Pitch Day, where they presented their business ideas to a panel of judges to earn a spot as one of the four finalists.
The panel was comprised of entrepreneurs, executives and investors, listed below, who conferred to select the final companies that would progress in the competition:
Maritza Davis – Sacramento Kings Vice President of Experiences and Social Responsibility
Jennifer Hall – Accenture Senior Manager and Innovation Leader
Sonny Mayugba – Tech Investor and Entrepreneur
John Rinehart – Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations
Louis Stewart – City of Sacramento’s Chief Innovation Officer
The judges assessed multiple components of each business, including what problem the company is solving, the solution to that problem, the market size, the team and the business model. With this framework in mind, the panel selected the following four companies to move forward in the competition. Read about each company, in their own words:
Drinjk Wines
Drinjk Wines offers the largest selection of single-serve wines in the USA. Drinjk's designer glass bottles were created to make it easier to enjoy a glass of wine without having to open a full-sized bottle. Drinjk's alternative wine packaging format is the perfect size for busy people. It is also the easiest way to sample wines from all over the world. What happens when you have friends and family coming over? No problem! You can always order full-sized bottles of all your favorites.
Humanly
Humanly streamlines candidate screening and scheduling for companies with high applicant volume. We offer a solution that engages and screens job candidates that come to company job pages, social media, job boards, etc., saving hiring teams 60+ hours per open role on average and allowing them to jump in at the right time. Candidate experience and removing bias is a big part of the offering, in a landscape where 72% of candidates having negative experiences will share them online.
Sama's Marketplace for Virtual Reality Courses puts the power of Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Education Science into the hands of any instructor to unlock the learning potential inside every learner. Sama’s Virtual Reality Learning Platform is already producing a full letter grade improvement in learning, and, in some cases, we are reducing the failure rate to zero.
Sparck
Sparck is a personalized employee engagement and recognition platform that understands each person feels valued differently. We equip managers with the tools and real-time insights to increase retention and team productivity. Sparck does this by creating custom reward and recognition experiences that reflect how employees live, work and communicate today.
Over the next week, the remaining companies will develop short pitch videos to showcase their businesses, which will be shared on the Kings website and displayed in-game during “Tech Night” on March 26. Beginning on March 18, fans will be able to cast their votes for the company they think deserves to win this year’s Capitalize competition.
Fans can make their voices heard until halftime of the Sacramento Kings vs. Atlanta Hawks game on March 26, at which time the judges’ votes, along with the fan vote, will be calculated to determine the winner of the 2020 Capitalize contest. This winning company will be recognized at center court and awarded the $10,000 grand prize.
For more information on fan voting for the 2020 Capitalize contest and to stay up-to-date as the competition progresses, visit Kings.com/Capitalize.