DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., July 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Five Chicago tech startup companies with visions of leading the next wave of innovation will compete for a cash prize when they enter the Dragons' Den next week at CompTIA ChannelCon 2015, the premier training and partnering event for the information technology (IT) channel produced annually by CompTIA, the IT industry trade association.

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology industry.

CompTIA's version of Dragons' Den is a "channelized" spinoff of the popular global TV show where entrepreneurs make their pitch for investments from venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.

In the ChannelCon edition of Dragons' Den, five tech entrepreneurs will compete for a $5,000 cash prize. All five participants will receive valuable feedback and advice from the ChannelCon judging panel of Dragons.

Open to all ChannelCon attendees, CompTIA Dragons' Den is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Attendees will participate in voting for the winning startup.

"We're very pleased that some of the brightest minds from the Chicago tech scene are participating in our ChannelCon Dragons' Den program," said Kelly Ricker, senior vice president, events and education, CompTIA. "Each of these startups has a great vision of where they want to take their companies. I fully expect them to wow the judges and the audience."

Innovations scheduled to be pitched include:

Next-generation telephony services that gives more control to the customer, allowing them to become their own carrier.
An automated lighting and monitoring system that utilizes cloud-based data analytics to prevent and detect falls in the older adult population.
An on-demand personal security and protection service.
A customized, modular speaker system that puts customers in control of the shape, sound and style of their speakers.
A software application that helps reduce the time and cost associated with understanding and making decisions on enterprise text-based data, specifically for compliance, lawsuits, fraud investigations and employee activity.

The judges who will evaluate and critique the pitches include Mark Achler, managing director, MATH Venture Partners, an early to growth-stage fund managed by a seasoned team of hands-on investors and operators; Troy Henikoff, managing director, Techstars Chicago, part of a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to build their business; Quy Nguyen, founder and CEO, Allyance Communications Inc., a provider of connectivity, data center and enterprise cloud solutions; and Howard Tullman, CEO, 1871, Chicago's entrepreneurial hub for startups.

Registration for CompTIA ChannelCon and the ChannelCon Vendor Summit is open and available online. Registration for ChannelCon Online is available here. Attendees can also access myChannelCon to network with others, whether on site or attending the virtual conference.

To learn more, visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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SOURCE CompTIA

For further information: Steven Ostrowski, CompTIA, sostrowski@comptia.org, 630-678-8468