How long does it take to launch a startup? Three months? Three years? For the 15 aspiring entrepreneurs who boarded StartupBus Florida last week, the goal was to come up with an innovative technology startup in just three days.
The challenge took place while contestants rode a bus from Tampa to New Orleans, where they met and competed against other StartupBus teams from across the country.
Now in its 10th year, StartupBus is an immersive networking event designed to attract and inspire young innovators. Two graduates from the entrepreneurship program at USF St. Petersburg’s Kate Tiedemann College of Business, Akira Mitchell and Nick Price, served as co-conductors of this year’s StartupBus Florida, which first hit the road in 2011.
“StartupBus puts people in a fully immersive experience, where they have no choice but to learn on the fly,” said Price. “They learn how to work in teams and with different personalities. They’re basically trapped on a bus with other contestants, so they have to overcome issues when working on a product.”
StartupBus Florida’s 15 contestants included 10 from Tampa Bay. Contestants specialized in at least one of three categories: development, design or business. At the beginning of the trip, each rider pitched herself and her startup idea to the rest of the bus. They then formed teams based on their pitches and spent the next three days refining their ideas. By the time they reached New Orleans, the teams were expected to hit the ground running.
The competition shifted into top gear in New Orleans, where Florida’s contestants faced off against teams from Mexico, Silicon Valley, New York, Northeast Ohio and Washington, D.C. Teams took to the stage to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in a room full of angel investors and venture capitalists.
USFSP alumnus Juan Salazar pitched an idea for an app called HospitalFee, designed to help users compare healthcare costs and learn more about doctors.
“If you get into an accident, HospitalFee would help you research different hospitals, and help you decide where to go based on pricing and reviews,” he said.
Salazar’s team made it to the final round of the competition. Another StartupBus Florida team, an email privacy company called Hyve, placed second in the competition overall.
There’s no prize money for winning—only exposure and bragging rights—but previous StartupBus Florida rides have fueled a number of innovative startups. The idea for the grocery delivery service Instacart was first conceived on the bus. Bicycle pedal adapter DropIn Pedals and university data tool Course Align were both finalists from Florida in 2017. And dadSAK, a multi-purpose baby carrier, was a runner-up in last year’s competition.
Price, who competed in a past StartupBus competition and has experience launching his own startup, said USFSP was a big factor in his business journey.
“The entrepreneurship program catapulted me from being a kid who didn’t know what he wanted to do, to understanding how to use creative problem solving and expand a core idea. The program set me up for success.”