Five Teams Pitch at 3 Day Startup San Antonio

Five teams pitched Sunday night at Geekdom at the culmination of the latest 3-Day Startup San Antonio.
The teams included Menu, a software program to allow customers to easily order takeout from restaurants, MicroStoreIt.com, a matchmaking service for empty commercial warehouses and consumers, Ripcord, an iPhone app that sounds an alarm and gets help, ScriptFit, a marketplace for academic papers, and Team Me Up, a sports league organizational Facebook app.
More than 30 people participated in the weekend long event in which they brainstormed ideas, formed companies, did market research, created prototypes and business plans and then pitched in front of a public audience.
“This kind of event brings the idea of accelerated proficiency to life,” said Bill Schley, author of the Unstoppables, a bestselling book on entrepreneurship. He volunteered to mentor the teams throughout the weekend. “We can create millions of more entrepreneurs if we just move people in motion quickly. It’s all about taking that first step and overcoming fear.”
The 3-Day Startup program has already launched dozens of companies in Central Texas including Hoot.me, Famigo, Embarkly, Grapevine, Monk’s Toolbox, ParLevel Systems and more. Some of them have gone out of business, others have been acquired and some have gone on to raise money.
The experience of participating in a 3-Day Startup weekend can convince someone to ditch his or her day job and go all in on entrepreneurship.
“It was intense. It was great. We spent at least 12 hours every day working nonstop,” said James Rubino, a medical professional and python developer who led the five-person MicroStoreIt.com team. “It’s a great experience for anyone even toying with the idea of being an entrepreneur. This was a priceless experience.”
Stephen Dyer, a chief operating officer for Garrison General Contractors, pitched Menu, an online ordering system that connects to a restaurant’s point of sale software. He said the company’s idea changed throughout the weekend and after meeting with potential customers and getting feedback on their original idea of a ranking system for menu items. The team plans to continue to develop their idea and perhaps pitch it to the Geekdom Fund, a seed stage investment fund.
At the end of the weekend, 3-Day Startup San Antonio organizers give out gold cans of red bull as awards to teams and individuals who put forth the most effort. Simon Barnett, a senior at Alamo Heights High School, received a Play-Doh award because he was too young for Red Bull.
Barnett, a member of Geekdom, gave the pitch for ScriptFit.
“It pivoted a lot before we got to a final version,” Barnett said.
A few of the members of the six person team are going to continue on with the idea and plan to work with the University of Texas system to further develop it.
“This was definitely a great experience,” Barnett said.