After skating into our hearts at the DEMO conference this spring, the electric skateboard Zboard has also conquered CES.

Zboard was the top choice at the ShowStoppers LaunchIt event today, which pitted six companies from the Eureka Park startup zone at CES against each other. The panel of judges chose what they deemed was the most investor-worthy startup. Intuitive Motion, the company that builds the skateboard, also announced that it’s seeking $750,000 in funding (that’s on top of the more than $278,000 it raised on Kickstarter last year.)

So far, Intuitive Motion has sold hundreds of Zboards, founder Ben Forman said today. The company offers two models, the Zboard Classic for $649, which has around 5 miles of range and a top speed of 15 miles per hour, and the Zboard Pro for $949. The Pro version uses lithium ion batteries, so it’s lighter and offers double the range.

Forman pointed out that Intuitive Motion owns the Zboard brand name internationally and domestically, and it has patents pending for certain elements of the device’s design. Both of those points likely played well with the panel of judges, which included investors from Las Vegas and the New York City Angels, as well as entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki.

The ZBoard was undoubtedly my pick of the show at last month’s DEMO conference. Over 75 companies each had six minutes to rock the stage and pitch their startups, yet none came remotely close to having the enthusiasm, confidence, and coolness of the ZBoard crew. But as a recently released list of unused names shows, ZBoard could have been a lot less cool….

“[My favorite was] ‘Electrobolt,’” says Intuitive Motion’s Ben Forman. “Blatantly and intentionally cheesy, I think this name would’ve reminded people of childhood memories of favorite toys. Also it has a Jetson’s-esque quality.”

Forman notes the “Ooh Board” was the least favorite pick of the bunch. “We probably thought this one up after a late night in the lab without enough sleep. We wanted to build a product that would make people go ‘ooh.’ A very stupid name.”

So why did the team finally settle on “ZBoard”? What does it mean? “The ‘Z’ in ZBoard refers to the Z-axis,” explains Forman. “When ZBoarding, the rider moves around the XY plane by applying force parallel to the Z-axis (down). We liked it because ZBoard works well as both a noun and a verb e.g. ‘I ZBoarded over to my friend’s house to play Fifa.’”

The full list of scrapped names can be found below:

• techboard
• switch
• switch board
• freeboard
• chariot
• 8skate
• switchdeck
• skate-tour
• hotfoot
• electrobolt
• skatepilot
• dashdeck
• flashdeck
• switchboard
• switchdeck
• ingo
• ingo board
• ingaboard
• propel
• regatta
• i-fly
• momentum
• o-mentum
• omicron
• the osiris
• rawboard
• gboard
• the “q”
• infiniboard
• zooboard
• zoomboard
• ooh board
• nemesis
• marathon
• muse
• zipboard
• jetaround
• alicorn
• phoenix
• spectre
• gaea
• da vinci
• aeolipile
• martlet
• pit bull
• rising sun
• no tech
• question mark

So, which one’s your favorite? Personally, I have to say the “Da Vinci”–while making no sense–best represents the sort of pompous exuberance with which I like to wield all of my pricey tech toys. But “ZBoard” is cool, I guess….

“Figuring out how to make it go took about two months. Figuring out how to make it stop took about two years,” founder Ben Forman told VentureBeat. The board is unique because instead or requiring manual controls, it senses the rider’s weight, surging forward when they lean forward, and slowing when they lean back.

Ben Forman with the ZBoard

At the DEMO Spring 2012 conference in Santa Clara, Calif. this week, the company unveiled three new 2012 special editions of the ZBoard, each costing $1,000.

“Who here likes cool new shit?,” Forman said before introducing the new ZBoards to the DEMO crowd. “This isn’t Twitter for dogs,” he added, calling the ZBoard a “sidewalk-shredding” and “Segway-smoking” transportation device.

The San Francisco-inspired board has a stronger motor to handle the big hills, and a Giants orange-and-black design. The Santa Monica special edition (pictured above) has increased range and a surfer aesthetic. Coolest of all, the Stereo Special board (pictured right) has Bluetooth-enabled speakers so you can play tunes directly from your smartphone or music player.

The original $500 ZBoard was first launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. While not yet shipping (the first boards should be ready in May), the company is taking pre-orders and has hosted a very successful Kickstarter campaign. To date, Intuitive Motion has raised $35,000 from friends and family.

A panel of experts was completely wowed by the futuristic skateboard. Cisco’s SVP of IT communication and collaboration Sheila Jordan said she would be buying one for her son tonight but added that she’d like to see future ZBoards built with the female rider in mind. And Menlo Ventures managing partner Shervin Pishevar said the ZBoard reminded him of Back to the Future.

The Hermosa Beach, Calif.-based company is the brainchild of mechanical engineers who met at the University of Southern California. They wanted something faster than a skateboard, cooler and smaller than a bike, and able to lend a hand going up hills.

ZBoard is one of 80 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Spring 2012 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After we make our selections, the chosen companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.