Starting UP a Business at AUBG: StartUP Weekend 2016

On Nov. 4, ABF Sports Hall opened its doors to the annual StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad that allows amateur entrepreneurs to develop their own business ideas. The event lasted for 54 hours, with its apogee, taking place at Balkanski’s Auditorium, on Nov. 6, where 10 teams presented their final projects for startups to the jury, mentors and AUBG students.

[caption id="attachment_33324" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Teams working on their projects in ABF Sports Hall.[/caption]

StartUP Weekend is an annual event, organized jointly by the StartUP Blagoevgrad Foundation and the StartUP club at AUBG. The aim of the conference is “to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit among young people in Bulgaria” by assisting them on “how to turn their ideas into successful businesses.” This year marked the initiative's third anniversary, bringing together more than 60 participants, 33 organizers, 10 mentors, and 5 members of the jury under the roof of ABF Sports Hall.

[caption id="attachment_33325" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Discussing business ideas with the mentor.[/caption]

Asya Velichkova, a first-year student and an organizer from the marketing department, noted that “the main idea is to gather people, who are passionate about business and entrepreneurship.” She believes that events like StartUP help the participants acquire new skills. “Business is ageless,”she said, “StartUP is open to participants without a clear business idea, as well as to those, who already have a developed idea.”

The StartUP Weekend officially opened on Friday night with a welcoming speech from the facilitator Galin Zhelyazkov, who is a member of the StartUP Foundation. He kicked off with a presentation, introducing the participants to the StartUP Foundation, which unites more than 200,000 alumni of the program and 10,000 volunteers, taking part and organizing events in more than 800 cities around the world. “This weekend, we have about 30 cities, hosting the StartUp events,” he shared, asking for a round of applause before inviting the participants to pitch their ideas.

[caption id="attachment_33326" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Galin Zhelyazkov during the opening of the StartUP Weekend.[/caption]

The judging criteria for the final project included validation of ideas, execution and design, and a business model. The participants had to demonstrate the thoroughness of the research conducted among their target audience, the starting point of their project, the ability to solve the issues, evolving from the startup, and the authenticity of the business strategy. The jury consisted of Simeon Prusiyski, CEO at Startup Masters and a web developer; Slaveyko Djambazov, the CEO of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Ltd.; Vladislav  Konstantinos, a consulting professional; Nikola Yanev, president of Start It Smart, an entrepreneurial organization that inspires, educates, and connects young entrepreneurs; and Simeon Petrov, professional researcher, manager, and consultant at Start It Smart.

The participants originally pitched eleven ideas that were narrowed down to ten groups. The teams spread throughout the Sports Hall, the working space, where most of the participats eventually spent days and nights drafting their projects. There was a moment, when Zhelyazkov had to become a mediator, when minor tensions around the group formations arose. According to the rules, the teams were formed based on the superiority of votes that every startup idea received. That led to the situation, when some participants didn’t receive enough votes and had to compromise over a new idea and form a group together. “Everyone will get a team!” Zhelyazkov said, allowing Lyboslav Zahariev, a third-year student, to form a one-man team.

Zahariev, an amateur DJ, who was working on his software for mixing music, elaborated that all the teams he wanted to work with were full, so he decided “it would be better to work on [his] project alone.” He said that “working alone is actually not bad,” as it gave him the freedom to bring his own idea to life. However, at times, he found it challenging — “I was working on the code 90% of the given time, so I didn’t have any time to work on design and presentation. I could have had more fun, if I had a team.”

[caption id="attachment_33327" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] One of the teams working on their project.[/caption]

On the second day of the StartUP weekend, the previous night's excitement faded — the ABF Sports Hall turned into a quiet non-stop running incubator of business plans with every team working on their startups: conducting surveys, evaluating their target audience, designing the interface, consulting with the mentors, fueling themselves with coffee or Red Bull. Some participants, however, took advantage of the newly built Aspire center, mapping ideas and complicated schemes right on the white walls, designed for that very purpose. Rarely, they took small breaks to nap on the red couches or play table tennis.

[caption id="attachment_33338" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] The ATER team working on their idea at the newly-built Aspire center. Photo credit // https://www.facebook.com/StartUPBlagoevgrad[/caption]

As hours flew by and darkness fell upon the town of Blagoevgrad, participants, loaded with caffeine and exhaustion, having worked hard for the whole day, hit the final stage of the Startup weekend. Some decided to go to bed, the others — awarded themselves with a glass of wine, generously provided by the organizing committee, and continue working.

Apart from being able to work hard, dedicate oneself to the idea, and deal with the time-constrains, teamwork is one of the core elements of successful participation in the Weekend. Fatme Tsiko, a second-year student at AUBG, participated in the StartUP Weekend for the first time. She shared that she was nervous at the beginning as she didn’t know what to expect. However, she was able to overcome her anxiety with the help of her teammates. “We were helping each other constantly, and [this] helped me calm down and focus better,” she said.

Anxhelia Milja, a first-year student, who normally doesn’t enjoy working in groups, noted “[she] had a really nice time working with [her] team-members.” She described her participation in the StartUP Weekend as “valuable” because it helped her “improve [her] team-working skills” and taught her that “one could actually create a business idea in 54 hours.”

When the time, given to the participants, elapsed, BAC’s Auditorium burst into applauses. Georgi Chapanov, a third-year student and President of the StartUP club at AUBG, welcomed everyone — “It’s been busy 54 hours. Participants were working for the whole night, and most of the teams have done an amazing job!” — causing a roar of applause and laughter.

[caption id="attachment_33329" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] The participants waiting for the final presentations to start at Balkanski's Auditorium.[/caption]

Yanev and Petrov, both of whom were representing Start It Smart on the board of the jury, addressed the participants — “Tonight, you’re all winners for yourself and for your teams. We beg you to continue developing your ideas, continue doing what you do!” Prusiyski added that he enjoyed working with the groups, “You’re young motivated people full of bright ideas!”

The final projects varied from an educational platform for teenagers that would allow them to find the answers on their most desired questions to the services of food delivery on campus. Each team had five minutes to present their startup and three minutes for the Q&A. The audience had a chance to ask their own questions by submitting them online. Despite the fact that it took three hours to present all the startups, the Auditorium was full with students, waiting for the results until the end.

“What did you learn?” Zhelyazkov addressed the audience in his final remarks, right before announcing the results. The answers he received ranged from “validating new ideas” and “working in a team” to “learning how to serve the customers” and “being alive after drinking six Red Bulls.” According to the statistics he shared, only twelve percent of the participants will eventually continue working on their StartUP Weekend ideas. “You will fail, and that is okay. Keep it going, don’t stop! If you don’t try, you, basically, already lost,” he advised.

[caption id="attachment_33332" align="aligncenter" width="3826"] A group picture of all the participants, organizers, and members of the jury after the announcement of the results.[/caption]

The rest of the statistical data included cases like Jetmira Alushi, a third-year student, who was a part of FEEZY. Her group worked on developing a platform that would allow users to sign up for a customized menu, delivered to the doors three times a day for the price of 15-20 leva. FEEZY conducted the field work, worked through the financial side of the startup, and contacted the restaurant. It helped them estimate the approximate price for the service and gain the support of 20 people, who signed up and already paid for the “meal plan.” However, the team didn't win and reimbursed the money. Alushi admitted that the future of the project “remains to be decided, but people showed the interest, so [the idea] is completely implementable.”

[caption id="attachment_33330" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] The last preparations before the final presentation.[/caption]

In addition to the prizes provided by the generous support of donors like VIVACOM, Societe Generale Bank, Red Bull, Superhosting.bg, Betahaus, AUBG Alumni Association, and AUBG’s Student Government, the members of the jury prepared their own prizes for the teams they liked the most. Start It Smart, for instance, offered a pass to their pre-acceleration selection-day for an intensive entrepreneurial program.

The team that won the first place and won prizes from several judges was ATER. They came up with the idea to create an online platform that allowed users to access a digitalized menu of the restaurants, avoiding bad customer service and saving their time. The aim, as the team put it, was to improve the communication between the customers and the restaurants. Boris Angelov, a second-year student, who presented the project, said that the team got an idea for the startup “over a few beers.” “Actually, how didn’t people think of it up until now?” he asked, continuing — “[Bad customers service] is a kind of the problem people face every day (…), particularly in restaurants and cafes.” Speaking of challenges that his team had to overcome, Angelov said that they “had to work mostly on the communication and resolving the quarrels.”

[caption id="attachment_33331" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] The ATER team receiving their award.[/caption]

“We are planning to continue with our project idea. Maybe we will use the phones for the MVP,” Angelov added with regard to the team’s future plans.