Funding Universe, a Utah-based organization for entrepreneurs and the angels that love them, has taken investment matchmaking to its logical conclusion. The gong-show is an established tradition, going back, at least to Red Herring's venture markets in the 1990s, at which entrepreneurs were given 30 seconds to make a pitch before being ushered off the stage, usually to embarrassed applause. Funding Universe's speedpitching events go one step further, borrowing from the rules of speed-dating. Startup execs have seven minutes in front of one set of investors, to explain their idea, and answer questions, before moving on, in rotation, to the next table. I wanted to hate the idea, but, on reflection, the format does address two of the greatest inefficiencies of technology investing: the long-windedness of the self-obsessed entrepreneur, and the incredibly short attention span of the Blackberry-addicted investor. Video of a recent event, after the jump.

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