13°c Light rain showers
17°c Cloudy with showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ladies and gentlemen, start your companies!
Entrepreneurs have weekend to create a business
John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press Justin Foot, Evan Williams and Hao Wang of Mindmoka participate in Startup Weekend at Red River College. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
A weekend-long competition at Red River College to see what group of pickup entrepreneurs could start the best business in 54 hours should go some way to dispel worries people might have about the strength of the entrepreneurial culture in Winnipeg.
Close to 100 people -- experienced entrepreneurs and wannabees -- in six teams took part in the intense event called Startup Weekend that was part of a Global Startup Battle tied to Global Entrepreneur Week.
There were more than 200 of these weekend events happening around the world.
At the beginning of the weekend, 29 ideas were pitched in Winnipeg. Then participants -- a mishmash of technical and marketing people, promoters and coders -- voted out the ones they didn't like and joined up with the ideas they thought were most promising.
The goal was to generate enough technical and marketing intelligence to actually have a prototype in some form by the end of the weekend.
Six businesses survived to present to a team of judges on Sunday evening. (This reporter was one of the judges.)
At the Winnipeg event, a wireless app called Buzzinga won the competition.
The winning group was made up of Chris Johnson and Brad Kendall -- who helped organize the event -- and Sean Sylvestre and Matt Connors.
Their app will allow apartment dwellers to provide customized access codes to their building to make it easier to buzz visitors into the premises if the actual apartment residents are either not in the apartment or busy and not able to get to the wired intercom device.
By the end of the weekend, Buzzinga had already sold some subscriptions to its product through the crowdfunding website indiegogo.com .
Each group was intent on winning and all of them produced relatively sophisticated powerpoints for the judging presentations. The two runners-up were Rent-Up, an online property management service, and Octofactory, an ambitious customized manufacturing concept.
The winning group will take part in a global competition with the chance to win some substantial prizes, including an all-expenses-paid trip to Google's headquarters.
One of the key features of the event is a focus on execution. For instance, among the grassroots entrepreneurial sector, there is a sense patents are not as important as actually producing a product and getting it to market.
According to Scott MacAulay, the entrepreneurship practicum course instructor at RRC, the people who attend are serious about becoming entrepreneurs.
There was a mixture of old and young people among the participants as well as students and experienced business owners including Michael Legary, owner of Securis Inc. -- who had the assistance of industrial designer David Bernhardt for his pitch -- and serial inventor Phil Poettcker, who said he has started more than 40 businesses in 26 years.
"The people participating really want to make some money," MacAulay said.
This was the second Startup Weekend held in Winnipeg since the summer. A loose-knit organization that Johnson, Kendall and Dustin Refvik have formed called RampUp Manitoba is behind the events.
"It's a perfect place to figure out if your idea sucks or not," said Kendall, an information technology professional and a serial entrepreneur.
The event attracted support from some serious mainstream players. The Canadian Youth Business Foundation hosted the event and professionals from Pitblado Law, Deliotte, BDC and RBC helped mentor the various groups through the competition.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2012 B5
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Selinger talks tax at NDP convention in Brandon
05/24/2013 7:45 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Woman drove into river on purpose
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Rare comic book featuring debut of Superman found insulating abandoned house in Minnesota
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Systemic approach to voter interference 'extremely worrisome': Trudeau
- Katz knew golf plan doomed 'months ago'
- City's first urban reserve born
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Winnipeg woman camps out in front of legislature to protest child welfare
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Catching up with Arrested Development's Bluth family
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Lake St. Martin reserve close to getting new home
- Toews 'disappointed' U.S., Canada at loggerheads over meat labeling regulations
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
- Bridge collapse survivor who fell in river: 'You hold on as tight as you can'
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- New owner for lumber stores
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.