FREDERICTON – In just two days, a new business is formed. At Startup Weekend New Brunswick, new ideas get off the ground in just 54 hours. All it takes is a team, some mentors, and a lot of hard work.
Crystal Daigle came to the Startup Weekend at Planet Hatch on a whim. With a background in business, she was intrigued by a pitch for PiloTalk, an audio book app with a twist. She joined the team and now she’s one of the voices of the app.
“It’s awesome. It’s inspiring. It’s exciting,” said Daigle. “It’s exciting in a way as to how much we’ve actually gotten done and how much can we get done, when you sit down and actually start.”
The weekend is a chance for teams to refine their ideas by working with mentors and pitching their businesses to judges. They could get funding or help with business plans.
For some businesses, it’s the perfect accelerator. Last year, Hot Spot Parking was formed at a Startup Weekend. Now, they’re running in six cities across the Maritimes and have support from the provincial government.
That’s the kind of success Nick Spacek would love to see for his new business venture, ETing.ca. He helped build the website in less than a day. Hours later, the team behind the grocery-delivery service is serving customers.
“It’s running right now,” said Spacek. “Last night I believe, some students entered their orders in to the system and our delivery crew is out this morning delivering groceries to them.”
It’s fast-paced, but organizer Joel Richard says it’s the focus that helps people come up with the best product.
“Everybody has great ideas, and it’s kind of trying to introduce new people to the entrepreneurial scene that we’ve already got going on strong here in New Brunswick.”
And this year, they’ve attracted a lot of new faces.
“When we did a quick hand survey when people showed up here yesterday, and about 80 per cent of our participants were first timers. They’d never heard of Start-up Weekend before,” said Richard. “It’s really great to see these people who are passionate about something — an idea that’s rolling around in their head.”
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