A Chat with Startup Weekend Winning Team | January 2022
From January 21 – January 23, 2022, startup-savy individuals gathered together virtually to experience the beginning stages of the startup journey in our techstars_ Startup Weekend. From a group of almost 30 individuals, four teams were formed and worked together to discover the magic of ideation. At the end of the weekend, each team pitched an idea that they had worked to ideate and cultivate over the last two days. We got to have a chat with the winning team, hearing from Patricia, Alanah, and Michael about their idea and their experience with Startup Weekend. We hope you enjoy learning about their startup idea, WALLE, “The DoorDash for Trash,” as much as we did!
Patricia
How did you discover Startup Weekend?
I’ve been aware of Startup Weekend for several years due to following Geekdom founder Lorenzo Gomez. I have attended many networking and informational events at Geekdom since its inception.
What made you decide to participate in Startup Weekend?
I decided to participate after speaking to Jon Garcia at the Bexar County Small Business Conference last November. He encouraged me to check out the event this year. I decided then I no longer wanted to watch from the sidelines but rather put myself into the game. Plus, it was convenient to have the option to attend virtually.
What are some of the biggest takeaways for you from Startup Weekend?
The TechStar mentors and facilitators are truly passionate about helping the community to grow their ideas about potential businesses. It was great to see how many different people from all walks of life have a dream of launching the next big startup right here in San Antonio. It’s never too late or early to go after your dream of creating a startup business.
You pitched something completely different for your idea, what made you decide to come together with Micahel and Alanah to work on WALLE?
My idea to build an app that would provide mobile clothing alterations and tailoring services was easy to fit into the lane of the solution that WALLE could offer with recycling, repurposing of textiles that are dumped into the landfill as waste.
Alanah
How did you discover Startup Weekend?
I came across Startup Weekend through UTSA’s engineering college. We receive emails about different events that are happening both on and off-campus with the respective links to sign up.
What made you decide to participate in Startup Weekend?
I had never heard of Geekdom nor experienced a Startup Weekend before. I guess one of the reasons I participated was to learn more about the company and the event. The main reason I participated was to gain a new experience and immerse myself in the entrepreneurial world. As a college student, it’s really easy to get consumed with my college curriculum and only get involved with on-campus activities. However, participating in Startup Weekend allowed me to step outside of my box and offered a new challenge and opportunity to learn a new skill.
What are some of the biggest takeaways for you from Startup Weekend?
Startup Weekend taught me a lot in a short amount of time. I learned the structure of a pitch, how to capture my audience with a slide deck, and most importantly, I learned how to be adaptable and accept constructive criticism.
What drew you to work with Michael and Patricia on the idea of WALLE?
I was drawn to Michael’s original pitch because it combined two aspects I am passionate about, sustainability and engineering. I decided to stay with his team when I learned that he is a fellow UTSA engineering student. I figured we could connect on the technical aspects of his idea. As the idea evolved and Patricia later joined his team, we all stayed together because the topic focused on something we were all invested in which is sustainability. We were able to reshape Michael and Patricia’s original idea and combine it into something better.
Michael
How did you discover Startup Weekend?
I received details about the Startup Weekend from a facilitator here at UTSA.
What made you decide to participate in Startup Weekend?
As a prospective Ceo of either an engineering laboratory or LLC, I believed this past weekend would provide me with greater perspectives of challenges and potential solutions to implement as my career advanced from student to innovator.
What are some of the biggest takeaways for you from Startup Weekend?
Learning how to address problems from various angles, implementing thorough communication, and trusting in myself and teammates were key takeaways from this past weekend.
What need/ problem were you trying to solve when you first ideated WALLE?
WALLE was based on developing a product or service that would halt the progression of landfill build up, and eventually eradicate the need for landfills altogether.
How did you cultivate WALLE during Startup Weekend?
As our original objectives aligned with a global problem that needed to be addressed, we confined this weekend’s ambitions to starting this mission in our local community. Through extensive research, we determined that removing recyclable materials from landfills would be the first step in accomplishing our ambition of eventually cleaning up the world. Consequently, we prioritized the inputs of local residents, because their participation and willingness to recycle would inevitably play a key role in the success or failure of our mission.
If you are interested in learning more about Startup Weekend and want to get involved, go to our website at Geekdom.com to learn more about our next event! Check out our Geekdom Youtube to watch the stories of individuals who started their founder journey just like Patricia, Alanah, and Michael! We can’t wait to hang with you soon!
