100+ buspreneurs boarded 5 buses and participated in a 4 day Hackathon while traveling on a cross country bus to #NewOrleans, #Louisiana aka #NOLA and I launched the @tinyhackerhouse campaign.
As part of Startupbus 2014 alumni network, I was invited back to provide mentorship and support to this years buspreneurs on their journey.
I was excited to be on the Cleveland, Ohio #Makerbus, as it was different to our 2014 theme. This year we decided to focus on Chatbots, Robotics, 3dprinting, Hardware and Web Services. Special thanks to @makergear one of our sponsors, we were fortunate to have 2 x #3dprinters onboard.
One initial challenge we faced was the destination #Neworleans was a significantly longer drive from San Francisco than the other states.
A single bus driver couldn't drive the entire way and 2 drivers became too expensive.
So we were forced to merge the SF bus with the Ohio bus. Interestingly, this 'merge' presented a unique opportunity for both our buspreneurs and local companies on both sides supporting us.
The cross pollination of skills, networks and resources really provided a variety of talent for teams to choose from.
The Makerbus set off with 3 conductors, 3 mentors, 1 angel investor and 4 startup teams:
Titan, A multigenerator combining Solar, Wind, Kinetic and Hydro renewable energy sources into 1 portable product with a 10,000ma battery along with bluetooth connectivitiy and LED light source.
Presence, All your social networks in one place. A modern day business contact folio in once place.
SeaSearcher an underwater bouie, the ROV prototype could be attached to a jetski and deployed 20ft underwater equipped with Sonar, it can detect drowning humans.
Crewbie, A chatbot for groups to coordinate plans and businesses to understand the data behind their customer decisions.
2 of the teams from our bus made it into the quarterfinals which was awesome. The finalists comprised of:
Daisy, funeral planning service.
Pedalists A 3d printed universal adaptor for special cycling shoes to fit different sized race bikes pedals.
El Campo A farming logistics app to transport fresh agriculture and keep keep revenue to support local farmers.
Congratulations to the core Startupbus team, everyone who participated and the new additions to our alumni network for taking risks and making the journey a huge success.
