Fung Global Retail & Technology’s Deborah Weinswig to Emcee Startup Pitch Competition for Entrepreneurs at Shoptalk on March 19

Developers of tech apps and solutions will vie for two $25,000 prizes to be awarded by judges and audience

NEW YORK (March 8, 2017) – Fifteen retail and e-commerce entrepreneurs will have the chance to become stars at the Startup Pitch session to be held at Shoptalk 2017 at the Aria hotel in Las Vegas on March 19. The session, the first event of the conference, will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Fung Global Retail & Technology Managing Director Deborah Weinswig, an award-winning retail analyst and advisor, will emcee the competition, during which the startups will present their propositions to a distinguished panel of judges from the investment community. The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The judges will select one winner, and the audience will choose the second. Each winning company will receive $25,000.
“The Startup Pitch will be one of the most exciting sessions at Shoptalk and one of the most important, as it will give us a glimpse of the tech and services that will revolutionize retail,” Weinswig said. “I’m excited to present these companies, especially to this noted panel of judges.”

Curated by Shoptalk, the companies that will present are: Adeptmind, Busker, COMMERCE.AI, Dropspot, Everywear, feed.fm, Fract, Hanger, Myagi, Obsess, QueueHop, Returnly, ShopperKit, TigerTrade and Ziel. Judging the presentations will be Sanjit Dang, Investment Director of Intel Capital; J. Skyler Fernandes, Investor and Retail Futurist at One Match Ventures; and Patricia Nakache, General Partner at Trinity Ventures.

Weinswig will serve multiple roles at the conference. On Monday, March 20, she will interview Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group.

Shoptalk will be held March 19-22. Launched in the U.S. in 2016, it is widely acknowledged for creating a modern U.S. retail and e-commerce dialogue and building a much-needed new community of U.S. retail and e-commerce innovators. As a result, Shoptalk has become the most important American event for innovation in retail and e-commerce, and is on track to grow to more than 5,000 attendees in just its second year.

An advocate for innovation, creativity and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, Weinswig joined Fung Global Retail & Technology in 2014 to offer her unique viewpoints on the disruptive technology trends and innovations that are reshaping the global retail industry.

Recent reports issued by Fung Global Retail & Technology include: ‘Deep Dive: Millennial Lifestyles Drive Growth in Apparel Rental,” “Deep Dive: The UK Apparel Handbook – 2017 Outlook” and “From Runway to Checkout: The See-Now-Buy-Now Trend in Fashion.” Fung Global Retail & Technology’s reports and analyses can be found at www.FungGlobalRetailTech.com and www.deborahweinswig.com. Subscribe here to Deborah Weinswig’s daily news and analysis on retail, fashion and technology.
About Shoptalk
Shoptalk organizes the world’s most important events for retail and e-commerce innovation. Held annually in both the U.S. and Europe, Shoptalk events represent unprecedented gatherings of individuals and companies reshaping how consumers discover, shop and buy. Each event provides a platform for large retailers and branded manufacturers, startups, tech companies, investors, media and analysts to learn, collaborate and evolve. The next Shoptalk will be held on March 19-22, 2017, at the Aria in Las Vegas, followed by Shoptalk Europe, which will take place October 9-11, 2017, at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. For more information, visit www.shoptalk.com and www.shoptalkeurope.com

About Fung Global Retail & Technology
Fung Global Retail & Technology is a think tank whose research team, based in New York, London and Hong Kong, follows emerging retail and tech trends, specializing in the ways retail and technology intersect and in building collaborative communities.

The team, led by Deborah Weinswig, former top Wall Street and retail tech analyst and startup advisor, publishes ongoing thematic and global market research on topics such as the Internet of Things, digital payments, omnichannel retail, luxury and fashion trends and disruptive technologies. Subscribe here for Deborah Weinswig’s analyses of retail, fashion and technology. More information can be found at www.FungGlobalRetailTech.com.

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