Five Sacramento companies to keep an eye on during Sacramento Techweek

Sacramento Techweek kicks off Friday, May 10, and runs through Saturday, May 18, with a series of events that put a spotlight on local technology and innovation.

The goal, says Sacramento Techweek founder Adam Kalsey, is to bring cohesion to a region that's large in both geography and entrepreneurial scope.

“There are a lot of tech companies and startups in Sacramento, but everybody is working in small little bubbles—people [working] in Elk Grove don't know about [tech] stuff in Roseville,” he says. “Techweek is our attempt to give the scene unity.”

Scheduled events include the Sacramento Med Tech Showcase, Guerilla PR Strategies for Tech Startups and the 13th annual UC Davis Big Bang! awards ceremony, which showcases the five finalists in the UC Davis Business Plan Competition, an event organized by MBA students of the university's Graduate School of Management.

Want to know what local tech looks like? The following are five companies helping to put the Sacramento region in the international spotlight.

Founded by a UC Davis neurology student, this local startup specializes in multiplatform video-game development. Its first product, 3D World Studio, has been utilized by thousands of developers across the globe, and its latest offering, Leadwerks 3, puts the focus on building mobile games. www.leadwerks.com.

This Davis-based company recently hired Alison Stewart as its chief science officer. Previously, Stewart worked as a professor of plant pathology in the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University in Lincoln, New Zealand. There, Stewart studied ways to create and use fungi strains to control pest populations in produce. That makes her a good fit for Marrone Bio Innovations’ already impressive work with bio-based pest-management products. www.marronebioinnovations.com.

Stop wasting time on the Internet (or at least get a better picture of how you’re killing off those seconds) with this Web-based timekeeping application. Chrometa, which runs in the background while you work, tracks computer usage data to fill time sheets, compile billable hours and (theoretically) improve productivity. In 2011, Forbes magazine named it a top entrepreneurial tool. www.chrometa.com.

Tired of Instagram? This Sacramento startup takes that popular photo-sharing app and ups the ante with “hot or not”-styled contests. How it works: Snap a pic or upload one from another site (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), then share it with friends and lobby for votes. Winners get prizes from the likes of Krazy Mary’s Boutique, Sugar Shack Boutique and the Party Makers. www.modera.co.

Created by 8-year-old entrepreneur Nicolas Come, this forthcoming app (scheduled to launch May 19) aims to teach children (and their parents) about healthy eating habits with easy recipes, nutritional info, and fun facts on farming, grocery shopping and working in the kitchen. This isn’t just kids’ play—young Come has teamed with the likes of Kurt Spataro and Soil Born Farms to get his message across. www.nicolasgarden.com.