We’ve sponsored three startup weekends in Southeastern Massachusetts over the past two years; however, we recently had the opportunity to help sponsor, in partnership with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Startup Weekend Azores. The event was the first of its kind in the Azores and was held from May 6 to 8, and was hosted by Nonagon, a science and technology park located in Lagoa, São Miguel, Azores.
It was exciting to see the innovation, variety of technologies used, and array of final projects, from consumer products to solutions for sustainability issues to mobile apps. A total of forty people participated, including, two participants who traveled from the island of Faial, and another from the island of Santa Maria. The participants formed six teams focused on innovation and tasked with creating working startups with the feedback and support of mentors and coaches. They were given three days to present their ideas, develop a business plan, create a basic prototype, present their problem, and demonstrate their solution to a panel of judges.
The energy at the event is proof that the cultural aversion to entrepreneurship is changing.
“The event was extremely successful,” as event organizer Ricardo Machado of Nonagon said, “it completely exceeded my expectations.” He explained that in the Portuguese culture, people are typically not very interested in entrepreneurship as they tend to be averse to risk. We found that, although many participants were initially reserved, not knowing what to expect, they quickly formed groups, were pushed out of their comfort zones and were motivated by all of the innovative ideas. The energy at the event is proof that the cultural aversion to entrepreneurship is changing.
One team, GCM, found inspiration from the fact that gas cylinders are used as fuel to heat their water and to cook in the Azores; however, there is currently no technology to monitor when fuel levels are low. They developed an app to interface with their previously developed, working prototype for a gas cylinder monitor that allows users to calculate the cost of each use and monitor any gas leaks while allowing them to automatically reorder a new tank when the fuel is low. GCM won first place for expanding upon a previously developed prototype.
Another team with a previously-developed working prototype, Scinnova Azores, was inspired by the high costs of electricity in the Azores. The team lead presented a compact wind generator that her family from Ukraine invented. Their prototype uses a much cheaper and more powerful alternative to existing technologies which they wanted to bring to the Azores.
The judges also awarded prizes for teams who worked on new ideas over the weekend. First place for a new concept was awarded to AZ Health, who originally had several health and fitness project ideas but combined them to form one team. They decided to create a natural and sustainable way to produce whey protein, incorporating local fruits that have nutritional, pharmaceutical, and antioxidant benefits that are added to the product. Rui Cordeiro, one of the team members, came from a science background and had never considered the business world. He stated that Startup Weekend Azores “totally changed [his] outlook.” Even before hearing the news that his team had won, they decided to continue promoting and expanding with other sustainable health-products in the future.
Tourism was a common theme among participants, as the Azores are a popular tourist destination because of their variety of activities and attractions. Team SpinTour developed an app to allow tourists to get personalized itineraries depending upon their interests. They were able to add gamification to travel, allowing users to create a wishlist of trips, coupon offers, and badges for completing various trips.
The second place winner for developing a new idea was Wala Azores, who also developed a travel app. Their take on tourism was to connect “nerdy adventurers” who have specific interests with local experts as guides to provide specific knowledge-sharing experiences. João Paulo Menezes, who came up with the idea for Wala, came to the event to learn and found that Startup Weekend was “an addictive and mind-expanding experience like no other. You meet lots of forward-thinking people and you get to wholeheartedly develop something you believe in.”
Startup Weekend was “an addictive and mind-expanding experience like no other.”-João Paulo Menezes
Débora Melo from team YoungArt had a similar experience, commenting that she “would certainly urge everyone to participate.” She explained that the event provided “all [of the] working tools to create a project from scratch in 54 hours with professional coaches and mentors in several areas to enhance and guide our ideas.” Débora and her team decided to use their love of both traditional and contemporary artisanry to connect artists who have formal techniques with young artisans. They created a website to promote innovation in art by applying traditional materials and techniques from Azorean culture to contemporary pieces and allow artists to sell their products online.
For Teresa Ferreira, Executive Administrator of Nonagon, “this first edition of Startup Weekend Azores was a very enriching experience that will surely contribute to a greater interest and impact on the regional entrepreneurial community.” She felt that the event’s success was due to the dedication and commitment of everyone involved.
We want to wish all of the participants the best of luck as they continue to develop their entrepreneurial endeavors. We also want to thank all of the organizers, mentors, coaches, judges, speakers, and participants and we look forward to working with them in the future.
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