Thirty participants gather at StartupCity Spencer on Friday evening for the second Startup Weekend Spencer.
On Friday evening, the 30 participants of Startup Weekend Spencer gathered to share their ideas and collaborate on a project over the course of a weekend.
But this time there was a twist: all of the ideas pitched had to fall within the theme of next-generation agricultural practices.
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“What makes this event different from others is the agriculture vertical,” Sara Magnussen, one of the event’s organizers, told Silicon Prairie News. “All ideas must be agriculture based in one way or another. That is pretty wide open with ag of course—it’s not just fields and crops, but livestock, and so on.”
In the end, 12 ideas were pitched and four teams formed. Over the weekend teams will continue to build and develop their product in time for Sunday’s final presentations.
“I am most excited about this being a stepping stone to begin educating the non-farming public where their food comes from before it hits the grocery stores,” Magnussen said.
Learn more about the four teams competing at Startup Weekend Spencer:
- Ag Watch — A device and application that are designed to monitor and report on the levels of anything in large containers. For example, a large feed bin.
- Part ID tracking software — Software to help track parts in inventory.
- Farmhouse Weddings — A tool to allow farm houses and barns to be used in the off season for events.
- Energy Pig Plus — Providing better nutrition for livestock.
Final presentations begin at 3 p.m. Sunday and are open to the public. Tickets for the presentations cost $10 and are available via eventbrite.
Magnussen says prizes for the first-, second- and third-place finishers will be “survival kits for entrepreneurs” of varying size and value.
This weekend’s judges will be Kevin Kimle, director of Iowa State University’s Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative; Dr. Ashok Subramanian, dean of the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business at Buena Vista University; Royal Beef owner Jim Christensen; Barry Sackett, owner of Sackett Law Firm and professor at Buena Vista University; and CTO of R&D Don Van Ort.
Follow the teams of Startup Weekend Spencer as the weekend progresses on Twitter: #SWSpencer
Credits: Photo courtesy Sara Magnussen.
