Celebrating Success: A Recap of Techstars Startup Weekend Vegas

Another exhilarating edition of Techstars Startup Weekend Vegas came to a close on Sunday, April 21st, leaving participants buzzing with inspiration and excitement. For those who missed out, here’s a friendly rundown of all the action-packed highlights from this unforgettable weekend!

Empowering Entrepreneurial Dreams

The primary goal of Techstars Startup Weekend is to guide participants through the exhilarating journey of creating a startup—from ideation to building a minimal viable product (MVP)—all within the span of a single weekend. It’s an immersive experience designed to empower individuals with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to turn their startup dreams into reality.

The weekend was facilitated by Techstars Startup weekend veteran and Las Vegas startup founder, Kenny Eliason from RECORD and organized by StartUp Vegas.

Congratulations, VisionByte!

A huge round of applause to VisionByte and its team members, Hassan Adam, Neel Patel, and Rey Marques for clinching the prestigious first place spot! Their victory is a testament to their hard work, ingenuity, and innovative thinking. But let’s not forget—all the teams showcased an impressive array of creative and innovative ideas that truly captivated our imaginations.

Guidance from Seasoned Mentors

Throughout the weekend, ten seasoned mentors (Alex Martin, Jen Sloan, Ross Kennerly, Kasia Hein-Peters, Sami Lei, Wendy Song Dowling, Rafael Kartasyznski, Vlad Suteu, Joey Jarosz and Leith Martin) generously shared their expertise in areas ranging from coding to marketing and innovation. Their invaluable guidance helped teams refine their ideas, overcome obstacles, and prepare for the final pitches.

Insightful Judging Panel:

Kudos to our esteemed panel of judges—Faye Alemeshaan, Debbie Bingham, John Emmons, and Jimmy Jacobson. They listened attentively to each pitch, posed insightful questions, and meticulously evaluated the teams based on the Techstars criteria.

Judge Faye Almeshaan commented on how good the ideas were and was amazed at how much the teams got done in two days. 

A Weekend of Transformation:

As Jennifer Battle, Community Manager for StartUp Vegas, aptly put it, “It’s amazing to see how the room went from strangers on Friday night to well-functioning teams with viable business ideas by Sunday afternoon.” The transformation and camaraderie witnessed over the weekend were truly heartwarming.

Heather Brown, Co-founder of StartUp Vegas noted, “This is one of my favorite events in Vegas all year, each person leaves with more confidence, an expanded network, and the opportunity to grow their entrepreneurial aspirations to new heights.”

Support from Global and Local Sponsors

A heartfelt thank you to Techstars global sponsors—Google for Startups, GoDaddy, and Brex—for their unwavering support and invaluable resources, empowering participants to pursue their startup dreams beyond the weekend.

Additionally, we extend our gratitude to our local Las Vegas sponsors, including Lucihub, GO2 Partners, Lowtail Libations, Cootoh, Bake, RECORD, and StartUp Vegas, for their generous contributions and commitment to fostering entrepreneurship in our community.

As we bid farewell to another successful Techstars Startup Weekend Vegas, we celebrate the passion, creativity, and resilience of all participants. Stay tuned for more updates and future events from StartUp Vegas and Techstars—we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our vibrant startup community!

Techstars Startup Weekend is a program from Techstars, supported by global sponsors Google for Startups, GoDaddy, and Brex.