10 ideas developed at first University of Iowa #StartupGames

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Thirty students, representing 24 different majors, developed and pitched 10 new business ideas in less than three days this weekend.

It's a format that's becoming familiar in the Corridor, thanks to Startup Weekends happening regularly in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls: pitch an idea Friday night, rally a team, run a marathon of research and building, mix in feedback from coaches, and pitch the results on Sunday night.

But the Startup Games, hosted April 17-19 at Thinc Innovation and Collaboration Lab, had a few twists. It was limited to University of Iowa students, who could earn a credit hour for full participation. There were extra perks for challenges like talking to potential customers or creating the first minimum viable product. And cash prizes were awarded to the top four teams (which is actually prohibited at Startup Weekend).

Organizer Kimm Harris, an adjunct lecturer and president of IPC of Iowa, said hosting a startup-building event just for students on campus makes it more approachable.

“They can feel intimidated, or just not know what's going on,” she said. “It really introduces them.”

The organizing team, including staff and interns from the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, visited classes in different departments to recruit a variety of students.

“One of our focuses is having cross-disciplines get together as students, so they can learn from each other, see what is possible,” Harris said.

The problems to be solved ranged in scale, from the day-to-day concerns of a college student (where to find the perfect cup of coffee or bar with the lowest cover) to major societal concerns (feeding the world through vertical farming or reducing errors when planning an organ donation).

Facilitator Max Farrell, who co-founded Create Reason and also facilitated the recent Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids, encouraged all the participants to keep working.

“Time and time again, I see teams that finish in fifth, sixth, seventh place, it doesn't matter, but the hustle and persistence wins the day,” he said.

JPEC and the organizing team plan to host the Startup Games once per semester. As an educator, Harris was excited by the potential for students to learn together through hands-on experiments.

“Students have ideas, and they're willing to work on them if we give them the right atmosphere and resources,” Harris said. “They learned skills this weekend.”

Meet the teams:

First place: MentorMe

An app to connect upperclassmen with freshmen and other new students. With many college students not graduating on time, the founders hope that the “I wish I had known…” moments from upperclassmen can help young students pick classes, gain internships and more. The mentors would be paid for their time and vetted by their GPA, resume or referrals.

Second place: National College Gaming Association

It might be a foreign concept in Iowa, but overseas and in bigger cities, organized, competitive video game tournaments actually are a spectator sport. The NCGA hopes to become the legislative body for this emerging pastime, helping colleges set up standardized tournaments and giving gamers an avenue to show off and possibly “go pro.” The team wants to host their first tournament, for colleges in Iowa, this fall.

Third place: JAC Mug (just add coffee)

“It's 2015 and we've solved some incredibly difficult problems. This seemed like a simple problem.” A portable coffee mug that stores sugar and cream in the lid so users can make their coffee just the way they like it, wherever they are. The team wants to launch a prototype on Kickstarter within 100 days.

Honorable mention: Wemote

This team built an Android app and website in the weekend, thanks to coach Levi Bostian. Wemote hopes to give TV fans a platform to discuss their favorite shows, connecting in real-time or in communities for time-delayed services like Netflix.

Barground:

Find the right bar at the right time with a mobile app that displays how many people are inside, current cover fees or specials, menus, descriptions and more.

Ebb & Flow systems:

Indoor gardening made easy: Ebb & Flow would provide a kit with everything needed to set up a hydrophonic or aerophonic system and start growing fruits, vegetables or herbs in small spaces.

Organizer:

A communication platform for organ donations. Currently, communication between different hospitals and surgeons is all done by phone, with no record and high chances for errors or delays due to miscommunication.

re:fresh

An app to track and limit a user's time on various social media platforms, because those hours on Facebook add up. Initially targeted at college students who need to set limits to study.

Salumundos:

A portmanteau of the Spanish words for ‘health' and ‘world,' Salumundos wants to put a healthy food truck on the roads of Iowa City, featuring a different multicultural menu every day.

StackUp:

A mobile game to teach users the basics of investing in the stock market. Challenge your friends and learn the ropes before putting real money at stake.