Blog

I had the chance to participate in the final pitches last night at Startup Weekend Seattle (#SWSEA). There were 15 teams that pitched after working all weekend to build out their ideas and create products.

One to the changes they made at this event from previous events was the deliberate effort to recruit designers into the weekend program. Of the 15 ideas, only two didn’t have designers on their teams – only one didn’t have any developers. And 4-5 of the teams were led by designers.

By looking at the audience, there was a greater range of ages in the audience as well as more women participating. All great outcomes!

By looking at the demo you could see the results on the outcome of the mobile apps and websites. Take WhichBus, as an example. they had used the public map and transit information to help public transit commuters find the right bus.An honorable mention for winners as “Best Design”.

Or Seat with a View, that created a mobile app for sharing the photos you take from your window seat on the plane.

Finally, congrats to the Founder Institute Scholarship winners:

• ChickenCheckIn – a robot technology product and software
• Surpr!se – a mobile app to surprise your friends

Both of these companies have received a scholarship for one team member of the Spring Semester (they still have to apply for the semester)