TechBUZZ: Summer's Hottest Start-Ups

The Motley Fool can trace its humble beginnings to a shed behind David Gardner's house, where David and Tom posted answers to financial questions on Prodigy's and America Online's bulletin boards. Tech goliath Apple was born in a garage in Silicon Valley, where the company's two famous Steves -- that is, Jobs and Wozniak -- built the first Apple Computer. Larry Page and Sergey Brin also began their life's work in a garage, where they created BackRub -- now known as Google.

Every company we know and love began as a small, local passion project.

As Foolish investors, we love these inspiring stories of entrepreneurship, so we've partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) to learn more about some of the best and brightest local start-ups. Several times each year, MAVA hosts TechBUZZ -- a day for companies to pitch their start-up stories to private equity investors and other entrepreneurs. The Motley Fool was on hand at the most recent TechBUZZ, at AOL's FishBowl Labs, and we're excited to share the stories of 10 of the start-ups who presented. Click on a company name below for the full article.