If you’re wondering whether a new business can start up over the course of a weekend — and become successful — consider LeaseCake.
The Orlando company participated locally in Techstars Startup Weekend and won nationally, beating out 12,000 other attendees from 200 cities, 58 countries and six continents. LeaseCake tracks leases through an online platform, aiming to make property management easier for small and midsize property owners.
Back in 2017 — as happens every year at these events — Startup Weekend participants split into groups and built companies from the ground up within 54 hours. On Friday night, teams are formed. Saturday is slated for business model development and Sunday the teams pitch what they’ve made. That’s a simplified breakdown; there are many micro-steps along the way.
In the span of one weekend, LeaseCake had a complete business model, dozens of interviews with tenants and property owners to verify its idea and even had a paying customer. Since then, the business has raised more than $16 million in capital and now has 56 employees.
Also in 2017, Informulate CEO Rajiv Menon took over organizing Startup Weekend Orlando. He first attended in 2012 and found the concept remarkable, “but that was before the startup scene had become what it is now,” he said. “There were three of these weekends per year back then, but by 2015 they had stopped completely. I decided to get it going again in 2017.”
Menon said more than 100 teams have competed locally since the competition’s inception, with an average of 10 per event. He expects as many this coming weekend when Startup Weekend Orlando meets to compete at UCF Downtown on West Livingston Street.
“All kinds of people and businesses come to this and come out of this,” said Menon. “This spring our first-place winner was a 12-year-old girl. We are inclusive from the point of view of welcoming everybody to participate."
This is the first year Startup Weekend Orlando is being sponsored by both the city of Orlando and Orange County, and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings will be a keynote speaker. Menon said he has heard from Demings that the county is supportive of fostering an “innovation economy” and wants “regular people to explore what it means to be an entrepreneur and go after funding.”
“The value that startups bring to Orange County is vast and far-reaching,” Demings said in a prepared statement. “These innovative ventures and insights not only bring economic opportunity but also usher in fresh ideas and promote job growth in our region. These startups help make Orange County a hub for creativity and entrepreneurship.”
Orange County Chief Innovation and Emerging Technologies Officer Simone Babb also weighed in, saying she recognizes the importance of lining up the talent pipeline and how that can fuel tech-related businesses.
While the global accelerator Techstars — the group that originated Startup Weekend everywhere — claims to have invested a total of $98.4 billion in pre-seed companies since its founding in Boulder, Colorado, in 2006, Startup Weekend competitors don’t vie for money. Winners and other participants do get support and advice — as well as introductions — during and after the competition.
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