Finalists Selected In Google Pitch Competition

By Edward Cardenas

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - A field of 11 metro Detroit-based startups hoping to pitch their business to Google has been narrowed down to three finalists.

The companies - which include a technology that connects apps with advertisers; a patient genome sequencing program and sales performance platform - were selected as finalists during the recent Google Demo Day Detroit at Grand Circus.

"We're very impressed by the talented entrepreneurs and innovative companies in the Detroit area," said John Lyman, head of partnerships and marketing for Google for Entrepreneurs, in a release. "Google for Entrepreneurs partners with organizations like Grand Circus to help these local communities of entrepreneurs grow and thrive."

One of the three finalists will be selected by Google to travel to the company's Mountain View headquarters in California to compete in a national Demo Day on April 2.

The three companies were among the 11 which competed in the Second Annual Google Demo Day organized by tech training institute Grand Circus, which is located on the Madison Block in the heart of Detroit's growing tech scene.  The firms were all seeking series-A funding pitching

"This is a fantastic opportunity for local companies looking to raise some capital, and we are excited to be a part of it,"  said Damien Rocchi, Grand Circus CEO, in a release. "Holding events like these within the Madison Block, which has been the epicenter of Detroit's resurging tech scene, solidifies everything Grand Circus is trying to accomplish."

Grand Circus is is one of nine tech training hubs nationally supported by Google for Entrepreneurs.

According to Google, the three finalists are:

• AdAdapted: A platform that automates the native advertising model for advertisers that want to reach mobile app users. With AdAdapted, based in Ann Arbor, advertisers can launch scalable, trackable, custom branded campaigns across a wide variety of apps without duplicating efforts with each publisher.
• GENOMENON: Has developed a platform that simplifies the interpretation of patient genome data - enabling physicians and researchers to rapidly and accurately identify disease-causing genetic variants from complex biological data. Our unique approach to data processing and presentation means faster results, more accurate diagnoses and reduced laboratory expense - improving patient care and accelerating the pace of medical discoveries in the genomic era. To date, this software has analyzed over 750 patient genomes and has revealed the cause of otherwise deadly diseases including cancer.
• LevelEleven: A sales performance platform, used by VPs of Sales and Marketing at hundreds of companies, like Symantec, ReadyTalk, Akamai and PayPal. Named by Salesforce as one of the "Top 8 Apps to Help Your Sales Soar," the software helps teams sell more by keeping salespeople focused on the behaviors that matter. Sales managers simply identify key sales behaviors and set daily, weekly and monthly goals to motivate reps. When performance falls out of line, LevelEleven creates real-time, high-impact leaderboards to rapidly spike behavior and rally any team. The Detroit-based company was founded in fall of 2012, and its investor roster includes Detroit Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures.

Developers of iRule, which created an app that allows consumers to use smartphones and tablets to control devices such as lights and televisions, won the initial local event in 2014.