Early Stage Symposium attendees who sat in on the Tech Council Investor Networks track heard pitches ranging from a method for sourcing palm oil out of industrial waste streams to a data management system for health care professionals.

Presenting companies included:

*HITLIST, an advertisement platform that uses gamification to gather leads and data from online users “at a rate that’s much more effective than traditional forms of advertising.”

That’s according to Andrew Short, CEO for the Milwaukee-based company, who says these kinds of advertisements — banner ads and pop-up ads — are not drawing the same numbers of clicks that they used to.

“There’s a monumental shift in this ad-tech industry where big data giants and big publishers are looking for new and emerging technologies that help them connect businesses to an online user at a much more effective rate,” Short said. “We give away prizes through our platform as a way to entice a user to engage with a module which collects leads and data.”

He describes the system as a digital version of radio sweepstakes in which the ninth caller wins the prize. Users click a button on the module in hopes of landing on the winning number and earning a prize. As they do so, they answer questions about product preferences, providing valuable data.

“We’ve provided this service and data to some of the most recognizable brands in the United States, including the U.S. Marine Corps.,” he said. Read the full story here.