With another Startup Weekend event at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth under our belt, we’re happy to say that this was one of our most successful yet! From April 22nd to the 24th, 65 entrepreneurs worked to pitch, prototype, and present startup ideas to a panel of judges at UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). It was our pleasure to work alongside Toby Stapleton from the CIE, and Angappa “Guna” Gunasekaran, the Dean of the Charlton College of Business, to sponsor and organize this event, and we can’t wait to see where the participants’ projects will take them in the future.
This event’s theme was for participants to either make a physical product or provide a business solution using a combination of software and hardware.
While last fall’s Startup Weekend focused on social entrepreneurship, this event’s theme was for participants to either make a physical product or provide a business solution using a combination of software and hardware. The team behind Life Sync, this year’s winners, did just that, designing and creating an inhaler-like device that helps patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to test the levels of CO2 in their lungs. They also created software to allow it to sync with a user’s phone. Another team that developed a physical product was Team Footstep, who created a GPS device to help people find lost items. Unlike similar products that utilize Bluetooth, their tool instead syncs via the internet, allowing for a much longer tracking range. They used the CIE’s Mechanical Lab to create their prototype with 3D printers, which helped them win second place.
Two other teams also tied for second place, including AdviseU and My Local Storage. AdviseU pitched an app to help students connect with their advisors, making scheduling appointments easier. The app would interface with systems already in place at universities, like Zimbra or Blackboard, and make the process much smoother for everyone involved. The My Local Storage team presented a service to help students, especially those studying internationally, to store their belongings between semesters. The problem they aimed to alleviate is for students who don’t have a place to stay in the United States during holiday vacations but still need to move out of their residence halls. For around $40 a box, My Local Storage would drive to the user’s campus, pick up the items that needed storage, and deliver them to a safe facility during the student’s absence. Once the user is back at their university, My Local Storage would deliver their items to them on campus in time to move in.
Although there are currently no plans set in stone for next fall, this is our third Startup Weekend at the CIE, and we expect it will not be our last. We’re looking forward to working with UMass Dartmouth to plan our next event. In the meantime, we’re also working with the Azorean government to sponsor and organize our own Startup Weekend in the Azores. If you’re interested in learning more or know someone who is, follow us on social media to watch our progress and get updates.
We wish all of the participants of this spring’s Startup Weekend the best of luck in their future entrepreneurial endeavors. All of the projects presented have the potential to become full-fledged startup companies and make a huge impact on people’s’ lives.
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