You’d think they had downed 10 cups of coffee before they arrived. The energy that oozed from these three startup founders fueled a flurry of startup pitches that hit a 500-person audience like a lighting bolt.

After a big 24-hour push from the Verge organizers, the stage was set.

Minutes before taking the stage, Quipol founder Max Yoder darted from one side of the building to the other, trying to connect with a major west-coast tech blogger. Knomingo entrepreneur, Tony Scelzo, gave the Verge team a backstage interview as he prepared his pitch. And Nathan Altman, founder of uFlavor, entertained and wowed the local media with his whiz-bang soda machine.

A passionate startup community poured through the doors toward the food truck and Upland beer taps. Software developers, entrepreneurs, and investors had traveled from as far as Seattle startup communities to see if the Verge experience matched all the buzz.

This startup event couldn’t have been more raw.

DJ Liarmouth filled the converted warehouse with high-energy sound while people connected over local brews served in Verge-signature solo cups. There are few things that could have quieted this crowd, but eyes and ears were drawn to the front as Verge organizer, Tony Moneleone stepped to the mic.

Max Yoder’s presentation of Quipol was a magnet for questions from the crowd. People seemed to really dig the idea of this simple social polling tool. And Tony Scelzo’s Knomingo demo kept the entrepreneurial juices flowing as audience members asked about monetization strategies for the video platform.

Nathan Altman and Michael Cloran tag-teamed their pitch as uFlavor launched to the world. Of all the presentations, their display drew the most attention (It helps to have a 65-foot bus and a nation-wide tour to excite a group). As the evening came to a close, the uFlavor team boarded their startup-branded bus headed West. The team hopes to spread the word about their new beverage startup, and we’ll continue to keep you posted here on the Verge blog.

Look for the full pitch videos here as we release them over the next couple weeks. We’d love to know what you think!

Have you caught a glimpse of these startup founders? What do you think of these early-stage startups?