Hunter Hub kicks off its inaugural Start Something weekend

It’s a Friday afternoon at the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking. A swarm of undergraduate and graduate students fill the space, a buzz of excitement in the air. For the 62 attendees, the next few days is the chance to build and validate a startup from the ground up — in less than 72 hours.

The Hunter Hub’s inaugural Start Something Weekend earlier this month was an immersive, hands-on experience where students from all disciplines come together to turn ideas into real startups in just one weekend. 

At the end of the three days, participants pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, competing for a prize pool of up to $25,000. 

For Alex Titov, community manager at the Hunter Hub and Startup Weekend lead, the weekend was an exhilarating display of hard work. 

“Seeing the energy on Friday night carry over the course of the entire weekend was so energizing,” says Titov, BComm'17. “The participants worked day and night with mentors, and that type of dedication is what inspires us to do what we do here at the Hub.

“I can’t wait to see what all these teams do next.”  

Building a startup in three days

Startup Weekend was held from March 6-8.

The theme of the weekend was Open Innovation, What's Next in Tech. The theme was designed to challenge participants to use technology in new or creative ways to solve problems, improve experiences or simply build something scalable. 

Startup Weekend is designed for problem solvers, regardless of educational background. Participants hailed from various faculties, from the Haskayne School of Business and the Cumming School of Medicine to the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL). 

During the weekend, participants were able to access real-time feedback from six on-site mentors: Jeff Ryzner, programs senior manager at the Hunter Hub; Dr. Paula Berton, PhD, founder and venture initiatives manager, also at the Hunter Hub; Jenn Chalamov, BA'24, marketing and generative AI manager at ParkChamp; Colin Knoll, BComm'14, founder and coach; Sarah McCullough, national director at XPRIZE Canada; and Michael Rhiness, managing director at TRGT. 

McCullough was most impressed by the scope of work the teams were able to achieve in such a short period of time. 

“One of the most impressive things was to see how clearly and concisely the teams were able to communicate all the various dimensions of their business, from their problem statement to a well-thought solution, to understanding how they would take their solution to market,” she says. 

“The teams that were able to do real-time validation and use that feedback to drive decision-making were very impressive.”

AstroCarbon takes first place 

Over the weekend, 11 teams were formed, each dedicated to a unique startup idea. 

Pitches were presented to a panel of judges, including Justin Knibbe, BComm'17, MBA'20; Anette Ceraficki, BA'89; and Raissa Espiritu. 

First place was awarded to AstroCarbon, brought to life by Ennis L., Vishnu Dhanda, Harsh Patil, Rajdeep Das, and Atlas Herter. The team took home the $10,000 prize. 

For Patil, the experience was a realistic glimpse into life as an entrepreneur. 

“As a computer science major, I learned so much about entrepreneurship. From the coaches to the industry experts who gave fireside chats, everyone in the program was so helpful,” he says. 

“It really gave me a small taste of what the world of entrepreneurship looks like. The experience was awesome, and I loved seeing so many people from different background and skillsets come together.”

For the team, the condensed weekend timeline was an asset to their growth as a team. 

“It allows you to fail quickly and iterate quickly,” Dhanda says. 

Das agrees. “I’m really grateful for the timeline; we were able to do in-depth work on our pitch and get rapid feedback throughout the process. We made mistakes on the spot, corrected them on the spot and, ultimately, learned on the spot,” he says. 

The team agrees that having program mentors on their side made all the difference. “The most challenging aspect was taking the technology and tailoring it to the general audience,” says Ennis L. “With the help of the coaches, we got to refine our pitch and present a solution with clear benefit to the people we’re trying to help.”

Second place went to Luminexa, led by Anuj Sethia, Gayatri Anil Kumar, and Sabah Ud Din Ahmad; they took home $7,500 and also won the award for Biggest Impact. The third-place prize of $5,000 was awarded to APS, brought to life by Ali Assaf, Tayebeh Roostaei (Taya), Aazil Jaffer, Blair Mahon, Anh Nguyen and Yukyung Lee. 

The People’s Choice Award — and $2,500 prize — went to Spectr, led by Debojeet Dam (Debo), Thanishque Harshaa, Naasha Golwala, Tanisha Mattapalli, Syril Jacob and Ishan Allen. 

Best Pitch was awarded to Eyes on the Ground, led by Asher Khan, Saad Sheikh, Mawi Camacho Martinez, Matthew Castillo Cabarcas (Gianmathew) and Ben Chernesky. The award for Best Prototype was given to KiDEA, led by Olivia Mappalakayil, Yusrra Asrar, Kulwinder Pal Singh (Ricky), Sara Early, Ana Munoz Grau, and Tsz Him Hymns Chu (Hymns Chu).

Entrepreneurial thinking in action

For Guy Levesque, executive director at the Hunter Hub, the weekend was a testament to entrepreneurial thinking. “Over the weekend, we got to see teams develop their ideas, pivot when needed and problem solve as a collective," he says.

“It just goes to show that first ideas aren’t always perfect. But that’s the point. What you do here at the Hunter Hub, like participating in experiences like a weekend hackathon, may be the very thing to set you up on your entrepreneurial journey — as a student, as a leader and as a changemaker.”