Entrepreneurship has been one of the top priorities for a multitude of sectors in the country, allowing businesses to startup and venture in the local economy. This past weekend saw two Startup Weekend events in Pakistan, one at LUMS and one at The Nest I/O, Karachi.
Startup Weekend is a 54-hour weekend event, during which groups of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to develop a working prototype, demo, or presentation by the end of the event. Google for Entrepreneurs is the global partner for Techstars Startup Programs, including Startup Weekend. A TechStars Startup Program, Startup Weekend is a competition that takes place on an international scale and has reached a total of 135 countries.
The Lahore edition, LUMS took place this past weekend at the Lahore University of Management Sciences from 2nd-4th March 2018.
Read: Habib University Brings Second Edition of Code Play
Each participating team is allotted one minute where they pitch their ideas to the judges and fellow participants. This is followed by a vote where the top 20 ideas are announced for the finals.
These ideas then collaborate with other participants and make a team (of individuals having different skillsets), which will be focused on delivering the feasibility of these ideas. The teams get a chance to interact with a star-studded range of coaches visit the event through the weekend. The coaches are at the top of their respective fields who voluntarily guide these teams to ensure their idea receives the guidance they require.
The ideas included proposal such as a student accommodation service, carpooling service within an institute, a speech recognition application that teaches the language to foreigners etc. The shortlisted ideas work through the night to fine-tune their ideas and pitches; based on the feedback and mentorship they’ve received, following a final set of pitches to the judging panel.
Read: The Unstoppable Duo: Sehat Kahani Selected for GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund
Winners that were announced on late Sunday evening included:
- The Winner was Yummyistan; food delivery app with an option to book tables at restaurants nearby as well.
- The First Runner Up was Agarbatti Productions; production house for social media, looking to preserve classical texts, poetry and philosophy.
- The Second Runner Up was izone; free internet by watching advertisements.
The list of shortlisted teams included the following startups:
- Meetme.com
2. Green Try
3. Simulation Lab
4. Golden Garbage
5. I-zone
6. Rexit
7. Flatbuddy.com
8. Digital Nomads
9. WI Lounge
10. Nomadism
11. Knowledge Hub
12. Yummystan
13. Power of Pakistan
14. Kite Energies
15. Agarbati Productions
16. MWS
17. Fix IT
18. Adwheels Private Limited
19. Easy Rozgaar
20. Urdu Pronunciation
21. Flymail.com
22. i-guide
The winning teams at Startup Weekend Lahore will be incubated at the National Incubation Center, Lahore to take their idea stage startups to real businesses.
