Start Co. hosts first women's Startup Weekend

Aspiring female entrepreneurs got the chance to show off and develop their business ideas at the first-ever Startup Weekend: Women’s Edition hosted by Start Co. this past Friday through Sunday. Jennifer Krouse and Krouse & Co. won the competition, and the top three teams will have access to additional mentoring to take their ideas to the next level.
 
“The event was phenomenal. We had seven teams competing, it was very action-packed, and people from different backgrounds came out from all over the city,” says Al Pickett, Start Co. Vice President of Diversity. “We helped them uncover gaps in their business models and the pitfalls that could potentially hurt the business.”
 
New businesses ideas presented included food delivery via mobile app, a 21^st century publishing company, a running/fitness app, and a business to help the homeless, among others.
 
Krouse’s winning biz idea, called Krouse & Co., focuses on the homebuilding arena.
 
“When people want to build a home, they have to go to roughly 260 different locations to really nail down the design, and there’s a disconnect between what the consumer wants and the spec plans that the builders already have. Krouse & Co. is bridging the gap by having individual architects draw up the plans, and consumers can buy them,” says Pickett. “Where she’s particularly innovative is the design piece, where users will be able to visually see what the home will look like instead of just the blueprints. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”
 
Participants spent the weekend building business models, developing products and preparing team presentations to pitch ideas to a panel of judges Sunday evening. Teams had access to professional assistance and mentors from a wide variety of skill sets, including legal, marketing and public relations.

Startup Weekends are an international series of weekend events to spur entrepreneurship and are facilitated by UPGlobal.
 
Memphis was one of only 20 cities that hosted a special Women’s Edition event, and it was selected because of its track record in supporting the growth of women-led startups, demonstrated in part by the Start Co. Upstart accelerator program.
 
The event was sponsored by Google for Entrepreneurs, The Commercial Appeal, Cowork Memphis and goEmerchant.

“Everyone was a winner here because participants made new connections and friends in the community, and they felt inspired that this is happening in Memphis,” says Pickett. “So that, to me, spoke very clearly that this event is something that needs to continue and is impactful to the overall community.”

By Michael Waddell