Startup Weekend Okanagan 2012 Video
It seems like just the other day that the Kelowna Innovation Centre was buzzing with energy that can only be created through an event like Startup Weekend. If you missed out on the event, the vibe could be described as a combination of sheer determination, creative solution-storming, manic fingers on keyboards, friendly competition and gracious collaboration.
But alas, here we are at the beginning of May, and that same energy has flowed out of the building, into the community and has created brand-spanking-new startups.
If you are yearning for a shot of that Startup Weekend spirit, we have just the thing for you. This amazing video documents the weekend beautifully and is guaranteed to bring about an outbreak of Startup Weekend fever!
At the same time, we are busy plotting and planning for #swokanagan 2.0 next Spring! If you are interested in becoming part of the organizing team, are curious about sponsorship, mentorship, or participation in general, please contact us!
Thanks so much to everyone that participated and to our sponsors: you made it all possible!
FYI, our next big tech gathering is less than a month away. “Spring into Summer” is happening on June 1st at a spectacular lakeshore venue in Kelowna – tickets now on sale
Weekend Wrap Up
First Of All, Thank You!
What a weekend! Without a doubt, the first Okanagan Startup Weekend was a huge success!
Many, many thanks to the attendees, sponsors, mentors, organizers, judges and community for helping make Okanagan Startup Weekend such a phemonal success!
Break Down Of The Event
Metrics: 70 attendees, 16 sponsors, 11 mentors and judges, 24 ideas pitched, 10 teams formed, over 1000 lines of code in 21 different languages, 0 Nerf gun fatalities, and countless cups of coffee.
Winners:
- Congrats to SquadShout for winning box seats to a Kelowna Rockets game, and enrollment in Accelerate Okanagan’s metorship program.
- Congrats to Beauty Booker for winning enrollment in Accelerate Okanagan’s mentorship program.
- Congrats to UChangeIt for winning a Startup Entourage’ pass to Metabridge’s retreat.
- Congrats to Momento Locket for winning the “Best Pivot” award.
- Congrats to SeshWars for winning honorable mention.
Stay Connected With #SWOkanagan
- Follow Digital Okangan on Twitter.
- Join Digital Okanagan on Facebook.
- Connect with Digital Okanagan on LinkedIn.
- Upload your photos to Flickr and tag them with #SWOkanagan and #startupweekend.
- Follow the #SWOkanagan hashtag on twitter.
Reflections & Suggestions
This was the first Startup Weekend in the Okanagan. And what an amazing weekend it was! There has never been an event quite like this before in Kelowna and the quality of the ideas, the pedigree of the people, the professionalism of the Sunday pitches and the energy in the room all surpassed last our wildest expectations. The organizing team came through in big ways, the mentors were all inspiring and the food was delicious. We can’t thank our organizing team members, attendees, speakers, sponsors and other VIPs enough!
Yet there’s always a few things we can improve – and that’s where we need your help! Please send me your suggestions, big or small, on ways we can make the next Okanagan Startup Weekend experience better for YOU.
What’s Next for Okanagan Startup Weekend?
Still riding the Okanagan Stratup Weekend high? We’re inviting all the attendess, mentors and judges to a re-group on Wednesday, March 14th from 6 to 8pm at The Streaming Cafe, 596 Leon Ave, Kelowna. We hope to see you all there, and are looking forward to hearing feedback about your Startup Weekend experience.
Our Thank Yous
Organizers: Shane Austin, Daryl Chymko, Cynthia Gunsinger, Mica Knibbs, Brent Lachman, Kazia Mullin, Richard Taylor and Fiona Campbell.
Sponsors: Accelerate Okanagan, BCIC, entrepreneurship@UBC, New Monaco Enterprise Corp, The Universtity of British Columbia, rtStrategy, Metabridge, Big Surf Beer, Canhost, GitHub, Zoho.com, Springloops, Dropbox, Nerds On Site, Contractually, Kashoo, Dunnenzies Pizza Co., and Kauffman Foundation.
Facilitator: Joey Aquino
Mentors & Judges: Derek Gratz, Ed Alfke, Anuj Singhal, Jeff Keen, Raghwa Gopal, John Drope, Peter Ranson, Chris Curtola, David Mayes, Steve Wandler, John Matechuk
What Else You Should Checkout In The Okanagan
- OKDG meetups
- Lean Coffee
- 2nd Thursday Socials
- Geek Beers
That’s it! If you had such a good time that you want to to see more events like Okanagan Startup Weekend, visit the Digital Okanagan Association website and contact us. See you at the next event!
The Evolution Of An Okanagan Startup
Amazing what can change in 24 hours.
We began our Startup Weekend Journey with over 25 pitches. Whittled them down to 13 team finalists, and from there, through the process of elimination we start our Sunday with 10 teams getting ready to pitch.
This morning, the teams gathered to discuss their progress and to share insights into what they’d learned so far. The top answers the team leaders gave were: flexibility, knowing their market and defining their brand.
What the teams have to show so far is amazing! Each team has used their time to create forward thinking business ideas that have a targeted market, and seek to meet the needs of their end users in innovative and creative ways.
Squad Shout
Wesbite: SquadShout.com
Twitter: @SquadShout
Facebook: facebook.com/SquadShout
SquadShout.com is the ultimate team organization and notification system powered by an automated phone call, text, or email which also allows you to confirm your attendance.
UChangeIt
Website: uchangeit.com
Twitter: @youchangeit
UChangeIt is a smart, easy tool that uses your own compelling reasons to help you achieve your goals.
Squirrel Jar
Website: www.squirreljar.com
Twitter: @SquirrelJar
Facebook: facebook.com/SquirrelJar
A way to visually monitor how much money you have to spend each week and keep track of where you’ve spent it – we help you stay focused on your end goal and get closer to living the lifestyle you want to.
Time Badger
Website: www.timebadger.com
Twitter: @timebadge
Facebook: facebook.com/TimeBadger
Our service allows users to show their support for social causes (or brands) by adding a badge to their profile picture for a period of time.
Beauty Booker
Website: www.beautybooker.ca
Twitter: @BeautyBooker
Facebook: facebook.com/BeautyBooker
Beauty Booker’s simple promise is to connect customers to unfilled, last-minute & discounted hair & beauty appointments.
SeshWars
Website: seshwars.com
Twitter: @SeshWars
Facebook: facebook.com/SeshWars
SeshWars is a game that lets you submit videos of your skateboarding tricks (other sports coming soon) and compete with others around the world.
Memento Locket
Website: mementolocket.com
Twitter: @MementoLocket
Facebook: facebook.com/Memento-Locket
Capture all the photos of your wedding – even the candid moments you missed. We gather all the event photos and comments sent by your friends to twitter, facebook and other social media sites. All this content is presented online and can be viewed before, during and after you wedding. You can even create a book of treasured memories and have it shipped to your door.
Taste Okanagan
Website: tasteokanagan.com
Twitter: @TasteOkanagan
BookEx
Website: www.BookEx.org
Twitter: @BookExCanada
Facebook: facebook.com/bookexcanada
BookEx is a local digital marketplace that lets students compare textbook prices and cut out book retailers by selling used books to each other.
BookEx Media
Marvillas
Website: www.marvillas.com
Twitter: @marvillas1
Facebook: facebook.com/marvillas
Providing high end housing for Kelowna tourists.
Come See For Yourself!
Check out what the teams are up to online by visiting their sites and social media profiles. And be sure to make come on to Judgement Night tonight and see the teams pitch for business domination.
Who will come out as the Okanagan Startup Weekend winner?
A Word From Our Sponsors
We’d like to take the time to send a very special ‘Thank You’ to the Okanagan Startup Weekend sponsors. Without their support, this weekend’s event would not happen.
Our Gold Sponsors
Accelerate Okanagan – At Accelerate Okanagan, their Mission is: To increase the number of technology companies that start and grow in the Okanagan through helping to develop and support a vibrant entrepreneurial, creative and innovative technology community, and offering programs that support entrepreneurs and technology companies looking to start, accelerate and grow.
BCIC – BCIC (British Columbia Innovation Council) develops entrepreneurial talent and commercializes technology. BCIC focuses on competitively positioning British Columbia in today’s global knowledge economy in order to provide significant employment opportunities and a high standard of living for British Columbians.
entrepreneurship@UBC – entrepreneurship@UBC is a campus wide initiative formed by UBC in order to provide mentorship, course work, unique opportunities and make very early stage pre-seed investments in start-ups founded by students or recent alumni.
Our Silver Sponsors
New Monaco Enterprise Corp – New Monaco is envisioned as a ‘complete’ community built on principles of sustainability and focused around a neighourhood centre anchored by health and wellness technology employers.
The University of British Columbia – UBC is one of Canada’s leading research universities and is consistently ranked among the top 40 in the world. The university attracts 54,000 students from across Canada and 140 countries around the world to two major campuses.
rt Strategy – rt Strategy Brand Transformation Agency™ journeys with clients through left-brain & right-brain thinking to produce brands & communications that change the way people perceive and behave.
Metabridge – metabridge connects emerging Canadian technology companies to California’s Silicon Valley through a series of targeted events and an annual premier retreat.
Big Surf Beer – Looking to capture their love of riding the waves, the creators of Big Surf Beer wanted to produce a light, highly drinkable, craft brewed lager that they could enjoy after a great day of riding.
Our Contributing Sponsors
Canhost Inc. – Canhost is a hosting service provider.
Github - GitHub is the best way to collaborate with others.
Zoho.com - Zoho offers a comprehensive suite of productivity & collaboration applications.
Springloops – The web development collaboration studio.
Dropbox – Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily.
Nerds On Site – Nerds On Site help businesses utilize the technology they have and plan for future growth.
Contractually – Contracts productivity for web-savvy businesses.
Kashoo – Online accounting software aimed at helping small businesses organize and manage their finances.
Dunnenzies Pizza Co. – Try their infamous pizzas, or our traditional, or design your own.
Thank you again to all our awesome sponsors!
What’s Being Built This Weekend At SWOkanagan?
Teams have formed and ideas are flowing!
Here are the Okanagan Startup Weekend teams and what they are building this weekend.
Event X
An application to take the photos/tweets/social-media updates from from an event and creates a timeline that can be saved and printed as a keepsake.
Website: eventline.us
Twitter: @eventline_us
Book X Media Group
Application to help students find best price for used/new textbooks. The app will provide a digital marketplace for students to buy and sell textbooks.
Website: bookex.org
Twitter: @BookExCanada
Smart For Love
Helping couples realize their positive potential. An application that will help set goals for couples and work as a guide to improve their relationship.
(this is our super team with 15 people involved in its creation)
U-change
This team is building a platform to help people better achieve their goals and track their progress.
BeautyBooker
Service to sell last minute spots/appointments at hair salons and other service industries.
SquadShout
The ultimate team organization and notification system. Never miss a game or event again! You can be reminded by an automated phone call, text or email.
Website: squadshout.com
Twitter: @SquadShout
Okanagan Rentals
Website to help property holders in the Okanagan connect to tourists for short term vacation rentals
TimeBadge
Automatically put twitter badges on your twitter avatar to show support for non-profit awareness campaigns and community events eg. Cancer awareness. Also an easy way to schedule updates to your twitter avatar during the awareness campaign.
Website: timebadger.com
Twitter: @TimeBadge
Easy Finance
A mobile application to help people set and adhere to their financial goals.
Taste Okanagan
A mobile application to help Okanagan residents and visitors plan their winery tours. App will feature GPS navigation, reviews and ratings by friends and people you trust.
Seshwars
Real-life competition-snowboard video games, available through mobile applications and the website.
Team Renegade
An application to help companies quickly find replacement workers at the last minute.
Don’t Miss Judgement Night
So many great ideas and so much talent all in one place! You do not want to miss Okanagan Startup Weekend‘s closing event, ‘Judgement Night’. Join us as we discover what ideas have been developed over the weekend, see working prototypes and make your call on who will be the Okanagan’s next successful technology start-up.
Tickets are available for purchase online here: Judgement Night Party Tickets
