The first Startup Weekend Hsinchu just ended and what a weekend it was! Over 100 people worked tirelessly to get their projects ready for the judges’ viewing pleasure on Sunday evening. Overall the verticals on show were varied, with some teams opting to develop products for the engineering community, some for lonely geeks (slightly controversial) while others chose tried and tested routes, such as travel, health, food, clothing, music and deals. The judges saw in total 16 pitches, and quizzed the teams on their business models, customer base, traction and copyright issues. However, when it came to judging the teams, the following stuck out as the ones that provided the most well-rounded solutions to the problems they were tackling.
Without further ado…
First Prize – Hitcaptcha
Hitcaptcha aims to monetize the authorization process, instead of typing in words we can just click on the Nike swoosh, or the McDonald’s ‘M’. Research showed overwhelming preference for clicking, rather than typing, as most people see the ease with a one-click system. They already have some interested parties (including Patisco who said they’d use it to verify user details), so let’s hope they can go all the way with it.
Second Prize – TakeMyRoute
TakeMyRoute tackles a big, lucrative market; travel. Users can design their own route by clicking on the map, share routes with others and modify their itineraries with ease. TakeMyRoute grabbed the judges’ attention because of the size of the market and the amount of work the team had done in just 54 hours. Their website is live, with the team saying they will continue to add content over the coming weeks. Look out for their mobile apps soon.
Third Prize – TeeRank
TeeRank’s service is simple. How do I get the T-shirt I really want, and how does the designer know which styles will sell? Their solution? Crowdsource it and then vote on the top two designs. While the judges were concerned that this kind of service existed (think Threadless et al), the team had the necessary answers to allay the fears of the panel.
Honorable Mention – DealTub
Anyone who brings me coffee gets my vote, but the judges also responded to this idea well: isn’t it annoying when you buy something and then find out it’s on discount the next week?! DealTub will inform you when your chosen product is on sale before the sale starts, so you can put off buying diapers or whatever you want until it’s cheaper. The judges conceded that this was a daily deals solution they hadn’t seen before, and singled the team out for a special mention.
