Welcome Business First readers.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Budding entrepreneurs race against time to pitch business ideas
Business First of Columbus - by Scott Rawdon For Business First
It never occurred to Leslie Mack that one weekend could change her perspective about what she should be doing. Lo and behold, however, a three-day stretch last summer did just that, and today the Columbus woman continues to develop her Web-based business designed to help coordinate available hotel rooms in case of a mass evacuation.
Mack’s business, FindShelterNow.com was one of the most intriguing ideas that emerged from a weekend gathering of technology enthusiasts in the inaugural Columbus Startup Weekend, whose second session gets under way April 3 and runs through April 5.
“It became a database of empty rooms,” said Mack who, prior to creating her site, which is now her full-time profession, worked as a hotel night auditor, a graphics person for the Ohio Historical Society and a ticket office manager. “I was not expecting to take a weekend and start a business,” she said.
Creating a database of available hotel rooms during a mass evacuation is the idea of Leslie Mack, who presented it during the first Columbus Startup Weekend last year. Mack says it has attracted the attention of government emergency management agencies.
Startup Weekend attracts motivated developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketers and graphic artists, among others, to the event, said Ben Blanquera, one of the organizers.
A very special “Thank You” to our local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) mentors, Mike Bowers and Jeff Shick at
We are currently in the process of recruiting our business advisory board and expect to submit our application to TechColumbus for funding under the Regional Commercialization Fund.
How FindShelterNow Got Her GROOVE ON
This is the story of how I started FindShelterNow.com, a four year in the making overnight success story with $40 and did it in 52 hours.
I'm Leslie, Founder of INNergized INNterprise, a hotel and travel technology startup here in the Heart of IT All,
I had an idea so I signed up to pitch it and to hang out with some INNspiring people for a few days. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a little feedback so I paid $40 to attend and pitched the big idea on Friday evening. We voted on the best 20. I was voted
My basic pitch was "In a mass catastrophic evacuation you and your family may need to find temporary shelter in a hotel”.
The next thing that happened was just amazing – Startup attendees with all their business specialties chose the company they wanted to join. In less than two hours I had what every startup would spend thousands of dollars for - two software engineers, a front end designer and two astute business advisors. By Sunday at
There aren't enough THANK YOUs in the world to give to my TEAM. I recommend Startup Weekends to everyone with a dream.
Contact:
Leslie J. Mack, Founder, CEO
INNergized INNterprise, Inc.
Columbus, OH
(614) 937-1377
leslie@innergizedinnterprise.com
