Monthly Archives: April 2015

University of San Diego Hosts Competition to Fuel Entrepreneurship

University of San Diego Hosts Competition to Fuel Entrepreneurship

On Thursday April 23rd 2015 the University of San Diego School of Business will hold an exciting campus-wide competition in a “Shark Tank” like setting.

The V2 Pitch Competition is a free event with a diverse and action packed agenda including:

Networking Reception, Keynote Speaker James Brennen Co-Founder of Suja Juices, USD Student Entrepreneur Pitches, Bi-National Student Pitches.

Networking Reception 5- 6pm:

The opportunity to mix and mingle with Entrepreneurs, Investors, Mentors, and Academia in a unique setting.

Key Note Speaker James Brennan 6pm- 6:50pm:

James Brennan is the co-founder of Suja a San Diego based juice company, named #2 on Forbes Most Promising Companies in 2015. James is a hospitality innovator in award winning restaurateur, a successful social entrepreneur.

USD Student Entepreneur Pitches 6:55pm- 7:32 pm:

4 Teams of Startup Entreprenurs from University of San Diego will pitch live to a panel of angel investors for a cash and price package worth up to $100,000.

2015 USD Startup finalists include:

  • EquityEats a premier equity crowdfunding platform, dedicated to exclusively to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops.
  • Yes Man Watches a unique patent-pending watch manufacture, that redefines watch buckle sizing.
  • PhotoSurvey simplifies the sharing photo process from capture to collection sharing, a popular product used by Engineers and Architects alike.
  • myHerbPharm an online alternative pharmacy, that provides medicinal solutions based on traditional Chinese herbs.
  • Bi-National Entrepreneur Pitches 7:32- 8:15pm:

    4 Teams of Startup Entrepreneurs from Mexican Universities will bring their entrepreneurial ideas across the border, in efforts to increase economic development internationally.

    2015 Bi-National Finalist include:

  • Giftcar: A trending mobile application that provides sales and personalized gift delivery services
  • Stella: A wearable device measures UV sun exposure in real time, and notifies your smartphone when the wear should seek sun protection.
  • Brecher: Using rapid prototyping techniques, Brecher helps inventors and startup entrepreneurs manufacture ideas into products.
  • Mocket: A mobile application that rewards consumers for shopping with certain merchants, while helping businesses gain brand ambassadors.
  • Entrepreneur/Investor Individual Meetings 8:15-9:30pm:

    One on one meeting between Startup finalists teams and the angel investor panel to help deliberate the winners.

    Grand Finale and Award Ceremony 9:30pm:

    Cash prizes and awards that will help winning startup pitches turn business ideas into reality.

    The Startup Garage is please to be a part of the V2 Competition in look forward to helping evolve the Startup landscape both locally and globally.

    Register Today

    V2 Competition Event

    If you have a question about your Startup business idea or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

    Building Online Brand Presence as a Startup

    How to Build Your Online Brand From The Startup Garage

    Building Online Brand Presence as a Startup

    Launching a new high growth startup is a way to build a business from the ground up.

    Whether you are providing content, products or even services to potential customers.

    Knowing how to build an online brand presence when getting a startup up and running is essential.

    Especially when working in competitive fields and making a professional name and reputation for your brand.

    Build a Creative Team

    One of the most important factors to keep in mind when building an online presence for a startup company is the ability to cultivate a creative team to work with each day. Having a creative group of individuals who are dedicated to the vision you have for your startup helps with streamlining plans and moving forward in the right direction in any industry or field.

    Get Engaged With Social Media

    In order to ensure customer retention putting social media and social media marketing to use effectively is essential. Not only is it important to share updates on various platforms but it is also vital to communicate and get engaged with users who are also potential customers. Ask questions, request input and be sure to speak directly to those who want to know more about your startup to build a proper reputation while getting noticed in the industry you represent.

    Use the Power of Influence

    Using the power of influence both online and off is another way to spread the word regarding your startup business. When you have team members who engage with their online fans and followers it is much easier to share news, information and even product releases with hundreds and thousands of users simultaneously. Utilizing the power of influence is also a way to establish a professional reputation, helping others to gain trust in your business and brand, boosting sales and increasing generated revenue and profit.

    Host Contests and Giveaways

    One way to help build an online brand presence for a startup you are launching is to do so by hosting contests and giveaways. Giving away free branded merchandise and relevant gifts gives you the ability to spread your company’s name to promote loyalty and to keep customers coming back for more.

    Using social media to host contests and giveaways is another way to build momentum for your brand with the use of sharing and spreading the word with other family members and friends of the current fans, followers and customer base you have. Giveaways and contests also showcase your dedication to delivering high-quality products and services to those who want to know more about your brand and business model, ultimately generating sales and additional income.

    Consider Fundraisers and Crowdfunding

    Getting a startup company off and running with success requires a bit of capital, which is not always easy to obtain based on your history as an entrepreneur and any experience you have in the field you represent.

    Consider the option of launching an online fundraiser or working to create a crowdfunding campaign to spread the idea of your startup while gaining loyal fans and supporters of your business and its plan altogether.

    Crowdfunding could be an option if you are not familiar with taking out business loans or seeking additional assistance from venture capitalists. Using a crowdfunding campaign is often free of charge and provides you with total control of the amount you need to raise and what the money invested is likely to be used for in order to continuously build the products you want to sell and share with the world. It also acts as a source for social validation. If consumers are unwilling to buy into your big idea then it may be a sign to rethink your business plan.

    Get Creative with Press Releases

    Any time you have a startup you want to promote gathering the interest of the media and press is stressful and at times, nearly impossible. Crafting creative press releases gives you the ability to appeal to local news, international news stations and even online blogs and communities who follow startups and products that are relevant to your own.

    Understanding all aspects of building a brand presence for a startup is a way for you to get more out of the potential exposure required to continue experiencing success. With the use of the right tools, marketing and communication it has never been easier to garnish interest while attracting potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

    Guest Blogger
    Cameron Johnson is a business consultant and entrepreneur.
    Over the course of his career he has conducted case studies on both social media optimization and non-profit marketing. Cameron has also had the opportunity to speak at international business conferences and was recently recognized as one of the world’s top 100 advertising experts to follow on social media.

    How to Launch 13 EdTech Startups in 54 Hours

    How to Launch 13 EdTech Startups in 54 Hours

    Sound like an impossible task?

    Step inside Startup Weekend NYCEDU, a 3-day event that occurred March 27- 29th 2015 in New York City.

    Within the four walls of The World School, teams of entrepreneurs, educators, developers, and designers collaborated to bring education technology concepts into creation in a mere 54 hours.

    #SWnycedu kicked off Friday night with an open mic in which 42 individuals pitched their Startup business ideas to an audience of 150 Edtech enthusiasts in efforts to join their team and bring once novel ideas to life. Pitches included statements like “This isn’t just a weekend thing, I’m looking for co-founders for the company.” A statement, that evoked both present opportunity and future possibility, for those bold enough to believe in the concept.

    Upon conclusion of the pitches, teams formed (in this instance 13 teams) based on the most popular Startup ideas. The rest of the weekend was spent deep in the trenches of Startup brainstorming sessions, product development and execution.

    Edtech product developments ranged from more traditional learning apps like Poly, a parent to teacher translation tool, to those WizArt, which connects the art curious to the art educated for a unique educational experience.

    In the spirit of competition breeding innovation, the 13 newly formed teams raced against the clock in order to present a viable business model to a panel of judges on Sunday evening. Also evident with the 54 hour Edtech journey was the comradery amongst event attendees and the formation of longstanding business and personal friendships.

    “ I was personally blown away by not only the quality of the work (in speaking to one of the sponsors during demo night, he thought a number of the companies could turn into viable businesses), but also the depth of relationships built. By Sunday night, it was clear to me that many meaningful connections had been made. I also think we had the right space and the right people to produce some really thoughtful and potentially influential prototypes.” Said Laura Patterson Communications and Marketing lead for NYCEDU 2015.

    Startup Weekend NYCEDU grand finale included a 5 minute pitch given by each of the 13 Startups with a 2 minute window for Q & A from the panel of 4 judges. The judges included: Preeti Birla from Innovate NYC Schools, Wiley Cerilli from First Round Capital, Christy Crawford from Bronx Community Charter and Jason DeRoner from TeachBoost.

    As a witness to the 13 pitches, all were inspiring and shined a new light on game changing education hacks that certainly have the power to transform our educational institutions to various degrees. However, only 1 Edtech Startup reined supreme, Mr. Cesar App, which captured 1st place at SWnycedu.

    The Mr. Cesar app was inspired from the following problem:
    “The average student guidance counselor ratio in the US is 470 to 1. For minority, low-income students, that ratio doubles to 1000 to 1. In this environment, many high achieving, under-resourced students who might have a fighting chance at highly selective schools end up placed at local colleges with lower graduation rates and quality of education.”

    Be sure to keep Mr. Cesar App. on your radar along with the 12 other Startups that launched over March 27th weekend as this won’t be the 1st or last time they’ll be reinventing education on and offline.

    Do you have a Startup Business Idea or want to support those that do? Startup Weekends powered by Google for Entreprenuers have hosted over
    1,500 events to date, spanning 726 international cities, yielding over 13,000 startups created by over 123,000 entrepreneurs. Check out the event calendar, get involved and launch a Startup in 54 hours there’s never been a better time in history to do so!

    If you have a question about your Startup business idea or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!