Nine new startup business teams were created during the 2022 Techstars Startup Weekend Monterey Bay held January 28-30, 2022. Goodeats was selected as the top team for the weekend.
First place winner: Goodeats – The app that links all those friends’ food recommendations with where you are exactly when hunger strikes!
Runners-up:
- Second Place: Footprint – Free simulation tool providing customers the ability to quantify the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio.
- Third Place: Fooodies – A food delivery platform made for people who want to save money when ordering food to their doorstep . Fooodie connects communities with local restaurants and saves customers and restaurants money while providing benefits to independent delivery drivers.
The Crowd Favorite Award went to High Ideals – Providing transparency to cannabis brands to help customers see if the product comes from a sustainable, ethical, and/or BIPOC-owned company.
Other teams participating in this year’s Startup Weekend were:
- Charging Solutions ETC – Charging, wifi, public video phone, emergency services and entertainment stations.
- Free Invite – A non-profit organization that provides a directory website with lists of low cost and free events in the area for adults 18-80 who feel socially isolated.
- Mind Core – Enables companies to demonstrate a commitment to growth and progression of employees and deepens trust. Mind Core fosters employee well-being while simultaneously improving performance, individually and collectively.
- Smart Glasses – Smart glasses for pickleball creating lines/net using augmented reality.
- TargetOhio – TargetOhio will conduct research via direct voter contact to develop salient educational and persuasive messaging to increase the political engagement of Ohio’s diverse Asian communities.
This was the tenth year that the Institute for Innovation & Economic Development at Cal State University Monterey Bay hosted this event. Due to the increased COVID rates, this year’s event was hosted completely online. Eighty-nine (89) participants (both students and community members) signed up for this event, 22 new business ideas were presented, and ten of those ideas were selected on Friday, January 30, to work on over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, sixteen mentors helped these teams develop their business ideas into new startup businesses. On Sunday, six teams pitched to a panel of five judges who evaluated them on their business model, customer validation, execution, and design.
Sponsors: iiED, Cal Coastal SBDC, Santa Cruz SBDC, Hartnell College, Santa Cruz Works, CSUMB, Monterey County Workforce Development Board, EDA, City of Marina, and MC Weekly. Global Sponsors include: Miro, GoDaddy, and Google For Startups
About Techstars Startup Weekend
Learn how to think, work, and build like a startup in 54 thrilling hours. Techstars Startup Weekend is an exciting and immersive journey into the world of startups. Over an action-packed three days, you’ll meet the very best coaches, investors, co-founders, and sponsors to show you how to get more done faster — and, maybe even start that business.
About Techstars
The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas—entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,700 companies with a combined market cap of more than $206.9B. www.techstars.com
About the host organization, California State University Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) Institute for Innovation & Economic Development:
The Institute for Innovation and Economic Development (iiED) is an institute of CSUMB’s College of Business and works collaboratively with other regional organizations to create and support businesses and entrepreneurs, promote inclusivity, community, and ecology and create prosperity in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties.
