Participants at Ventura County Startup Weekend last month were given 54 hours to take their business ideas as far as they could. The event, held at the U.S. Navy- sponsored Fathomwerx Labs in Port Hueneme, was a crash course for aspiring entrepreneurs. The weekend was organized by accelerator Techstars and California Lutheran University’s Hub101 incubator in Westlake Village. “Entrepreneurs are the ones that build an economy,” said Greg Monterrosa, community manager for Hub101. “It’s really exciting to see a founder walk in with an idea, start forming a team, and next thing you know they’re employing a lot of people.” Of the 54 people who registered for the event, some 25 pitched original business plans at the opening session Friday night, July 26. Of those pitches, eight were voted on by attendees to move forward. The rest of the participants formed teams around those eight ideas, using the weekend to flesh out business plans, consult with mentor entrepreneurs on site and even develop prototypes. The efforts culminated on July 28 when teams made presentations to the judges. The winners were: Get It Done, from students at University of California – Santa Cruz, who developed a way to match early-stage startups with compatible interns and finished first; Local Friend, which connects travelers to locals for authentic travel experiences, placing second; and Compu, a platform for businesses that rewards customers for referrals in third place.
