SXSW Accelerator 2012 is a small business competition that is taking place March 12 and 13 during the SXSW Interactive conference.

Businesses briefly pitch their concepts and then take questions from an emcee and a panel of industry experts. The total amount of time on stage is roughly 10 minutes, according to the Accelerator website.

The judges then score the presentations, and results are announced at the end of the day.

The winners gain prizes, including two platinum badges for the 2013 SXSW Interactive conference, and greater exposure for their work.

Businesses were put into the following categories: News-related technologies; Social media and social networking technologies; Mobile technologies; Innovative web technologies; Entertainment technologies; Health technologies; and Music technologies.

Six local companies participated on March 12: Umbel, Foreca.st, SceneTap, Hoot.me, Tugg Inc. and Toopher.

Of the six, Umbel and Hoot.me were invited to return to compete in the finals on March 13, but did not take home the top prizes in their categories.