²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Techstars Startup Weekend Success
April 10, 2023
From Feb. 17–19 UAF’s Center ICE brought together students, community members, and volunteers to run Techstars ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Startup Weekend 2023. Facilitated by Lee Ngo and organized by Ashley Guernsey, participants learned to pitch ideas, conducted customer discovery, and set about refining and researching business ideas. Self-formed teams from the weekend included diverse representation from UAF undergraduate and graduate students, as well as community members including alumni and local business owners. The 54-hour-long facilitated event culminated with four teams participating in a pitch night in the UAF BP Design Center which was attended by more than 50 community members and sponsors. Center ICE and Techstars partnered to help ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø dream bigger — for community, business, and innovation — for Alaska and beyond.
Teams
Winning team: Write That Down - speech-to-text app for organizing thoughts and notes
Second Place: Cruise Again - retrofitting classic motorcycles with cruise control and other safety features
Third Place: Minutemen - browser that puts content control in the hands of the user, protecting the user from algorithmic harm
Honorable Mention: Alaska Shower Kit - designing deployable shower kits for Arctic environments at a fraction of the cost
Prizes
- Above and Beyond - Millard Arnold and Skyler Smith
- Leadership Prize - Christopher Munoz
- Competitor Prize - Finn Morley
- Audience Prize - Minuteman
²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Startup Weekend Team
- Organizing: Ashley Guernsey (Lead), Peter Webley, Sarah Stanley, Jasamine Spencer, Vanessa Raymond, Kevin Huo, Tate Barhaug, Glen Woodworth
- Mentors: Telesom, ACEP, University of Alaska Press, McKinley Bank, OneTree Alaska
- Judges: Ursa Major Distillery, Castillo Group, ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Economic Development Corporation, ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Reentry Coalition, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Water and Sewer Challenge
- ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø Lee Ngo, Startup Weekend Facilitator
- Educator and filmmaker from Portland, Ore.
- This was his 23rd startup weekend
2x Entrepreneur
Sponsors
- UAF Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship ()
- Alaska NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research ()
- UAF Alumni Association
- UAF College of Business and Security Management (CBSM)
- Associated Students of the ²ÊÉñix¹ÙÍø ()
- UAF Student Leadership and Involvement Office ()