The Innovation Showdown Finalists Are....

Last year a big portion of the $100,000 in cash and in-kind support from the Innovation Showdown at RootsTech 2016 went to TapGenes which has continued to develop its product and outreach. Today the ten semifinalists competing for a similar windfall of support and recognition were winnowed down to the five who will receive final consideration on Friday. By the end of the week the 2017 winner will be announced.

In case you want to look back at those semifinalists now, you can look at my earlier post where the ten are listed with links to where you can find more information.

Judging focused on both the promise of the product as well as the soundness of the business model. Each contestant had two minutes to present the product. Then the panel of five judges had a combined two minutes to ask questions or make comments. If you are familiar with the television show Shark Tank on ABC, you should be able to visualize this format.

These five projects were advanced to Friday's final round. The prize pot is being expanded beyond the announced $100,000. Three new sponsors just signed on. More information about this significant financial and in-kind support will be announced in a day or so.

Double Match Triangulator (DMT)

An autosomal DNA analysis tool for genealogists   From Canada.

Emberall

Capture, organize, store and share the life history of a loved one - from your smartphone in as little as 30 minutes!  caption

Kindex

Accessible, searchable archives for everyone through collaborative record sharing and indexing. 

OldNews USA

The easiest way to find your family in historic newspapers - on your phone!

QromaTag

Add your story to any photo using your iPhone and your voice.
Digital tagging of family photos with metadata and linking to GEDmatch files

As the winner is announced I'll update the list and add more information. If you are among the fortunate twelve thousand or so of my closest genealogical colleagues who have joined me in Salt Lake City for RootsTech, you will have a chance to "kick the tires" and "look under the hoods" of these new products over on Innovation Alley (through the turquoise gateway over the entrance on the left below) in the Exhibit Hall.

If not fortunate enough to be in Salt Lake, I'll update you as the competition unfolds. Keep in mind that the overall winner may not be the new product that will be the one most useful to you in your research.