4 min read
Startup Weekend Lahore is currently underway in LUMS and competition is starting to heat up as participants get closer and closer towards securing that incubation at LUMS center for entrepreneurship (LCE). After the first day, 11 ideas have been shortlisted to compete in the next round of this entrepreneurial showdown.
Proceedings from the day one
Startup Weekend kicked off yesterday with all the zest and spark one has come to expect from the entrepreneurial scene of Pakistan. Enthusiastic individuals from different professions and sporting different passions were there to pitch their ideas and get the word out about their ingenuity.
The format of the competition was pretty simple for the most part. After words of inspirations by the chief guests, all the attendees were given a minute to pitch their ideas. In the brief time they were allocated, they had to identify a problem, give their solution and then tell the audience what kind of individuals they were looking for their teams.
The pitching process
More than 60 different individuals pitched their ideas in front of the audience in an attempt to woo them into voting for their idea. The 60-second limit meant that they had to get really creative to get their message to their audience effectively. The limit produced some interesting results, with some contestants skipping one or another part of their pitch. The whole thing went along smoothly, though, with a couple of goofs here and there due to contestants forgetting to give the mic back in a bid to quickly get off the stage.
Ideas shortlisted
Although more than 60 people pitched their ideas, only 11 made their way to the next round. The process of selection was based upon voting by other participants. Each participant was allocated five votes and they could only give a maximum of two votes to a single idea. Following 11 ideas were shortlisted after the voting process:
Freshalla
Freshalla aims to promote and distribute fresh and natural fruits. Consumers would be directly able to buy fruits from the app or the website and their selection will be delivered too their footsteps.
Pakfit
Pakfit is an online platform which connects professionals with individuals looking to get in shape.
Homegrown
Homegrown is a place for horticulture enthusiasts to learn more about organic vegetables, gardening fashions and much more.
Pak builds
Pak builds helps consumers looking to provide assistance during the construction phase of their home. It is an online marketplace for material services providers and contractors.
Health monitoring system
It is a wearable health device which will monitor various indicators about consumer’s health and will notify any anomaly to a doctor. The information will also be uploaded on the website and thus will help in saving a life during an emergency.
Paycard
Paycard is a financial management solution. It involves a prepaid card which can be used for payments across multiple outlets.
Kabara Online
This idea enables users to sell “Kabar”, meaning items useless to them, online. It emulates the Kabariwala idea from older Pakistani traditions.
Animatica Math
Animatica math will use personalized animations to encourage kids to take interest in mathematics.
Groupie
Groupie allows users to take a group selfie with their remote friends. No matter if they are in separate corners of the world, they will be able to take a group selfie using groupie.
Proximate
This idea involves a location and proximity based advertisement solution. It will show customer advertisement relevant to the product they are currently close to.
Dream X
Dream X is an Urdu digital assistant which can interpret and run commands given to it in Urdu language. It can control other technology devices in a manner similar to Google home and Amazon Alexa
What’s next?
All these selected ideas will be developed and polished to be presented in the final round of startup weekend. The ultimate winners will be incubated at LUMS center for entrepreneurship. Keep tuned as we will bring you more exciting news and details from LUMS as the startup weekend progresses to its final stage.
