54 Hour event brings together designers, developers, and more to launch companies quickly

Hamilton, ON (April 30, 2012) – Last weekend, 95 developers, designers, marketers, business professionals, animators, and engineers came together in the Collaboratory at Mohawk College to spend 54 hours trying to launch new startups in Hamilton.

3 months ago, Hamilton’s Regional Innovation Centre (RIC), Innovation Factory (iF) announced that they were once again joining forces with Software Hamilton to bring the international movement of Startup Weekend back to Hamilton after their successful first event in October 2011. This time, other local organizations came onboard to help support and promote the event, including two other local RICs – Halton’s HalTech and Niagara’s nGen – and grassroots group Silicon Halton. In addition, Mohawk College (Host Sponsor), Ridout & Maybee LLP (Gold Sponsor), Coral CEA (Silver Sponsor), PopChips and Deliverizer (food and beverage sponsors) provided resources to help the event gain momentum.

The 54-hour event was designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning on Friday night, the 95 attendees met, shared their concepts through a series of public pitches, and voted on the most popular of 29 ideas before breaking down into 10 teams (they named themselves PassageU, StartupN.com, Honey Badger Automation, Pangea, The Help, SoLED, Nervu, Drawble, GymChum and Healthy Baby Steps). The teams spent the rest of the weekend on brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, and culminated on Sunday night with demos and presentations. Participants created working startups during the event and were able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks.

The Friday night kickoff party included inspirational speeches by Kevin Browne (Software Hamilton), Robin Hopper (iF), and Dean McCall (Appficcient), while a panel of mentors worked with teams throughout the weekend to help refine their ideas and build better projects. On Sunday afternoon, each team presented to a panel of judges – Chris Farias (kitestring creative branding studio), Mark Pavlidis (Endloop Mobile), and Karen Grant (Angel One Investor Network) – who selected four winners: StartupsN.com received a 6-month incubation package from Mohawk College, Nervu received a package from Net@ccess, PassageU received a $1000 credit from enthuzr, and Honey Badger Automation received a private SEO seminar from KKT Interactive. RIM provided 5 Blackberry Playbooks for teams to use throughout the weekend, which were given away as door prizes at the After Party at the Arnie Pub on Sunday evening.

About Startup Weekend
Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekends culminate in Sunday night demos and presentations. Participants create working startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks. All teams hear talks by industry leaders and receive valuable feedback from local entrepreneurs. The weekend is centered around action, innovation, and education. Whether you are looking for feedback on a idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup.

Media Contact
For more information, contact Stephanie Shuster, stephanie.shuster@innovationfactory.ca, 905.667.2611 x.224

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