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Pro Shepherd crowned winner of fifth Buffalo Startup Weekend

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Mon, Oct 26th 2015 10:20 am

Event saw 30 percent participation from women, with female-fronted first- and third place teams

Pro Shepherd was crowned the winner from the fifth iteration of Buffalo Startup Weekend, held at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus' d!g center. It beat out seven other teams for the top prize.

Beer Parlor and Community Core placed second and third, respectively.

The event kicked off Friday evening as part of 43North Week and culminated Sunday afternoon with team presentations to a judging panel comprised of local business experts and an awards ceremony. Premier sponsors included 43North, WNY Innovation Hot Spot, d!g and AT&T.

Pro Shepherd is an online tool and mobile app that allows one to manage charity runs and bike ride events, as well as report incidents that occur during the event. Beer Parlor is a monthly service that provides unreleased craft beer to member connoisseurs. Community Core is an online service that connects one with local nonprofits to donate time volunteering while getting physically fit in the process.

Buffalo Startup Weekend co-organizer Dan Gigante said, "Each year, we talk about how to make this year's event a success, and each year, we are able to reach new people in the community and through the local colleges and universities. Ideas, interest and momentum are key ingredients to building any successful startup ecosystem in a community. I've seen this in other startup communities I've visited, including Boulder and Seattle, and it's exciting to see it happening in Buffalo."

Now in its fifth iteration, Buffalo Startup Weekend saw strong participation from women with 165 registrants - nearly 30 percent female - making up eight teams of entrepreneurs, developers, designers and marketers. In fact, the first- and third-place teams were pitched and led by women. 

The teams that participated in the 2015 Buffalo Startup Weekend included:

100nly (pronounced "One Hundred Only") - exclusive, autographed memorabilia sold to fans to help fund charitable missions.

Avenue Cloud - online service that easily lets one change one's name and address across all accounts when moving.

Beer Parlor - monthly service that provides unreleased craft beer to member connoisseurs.

Community Core - online service that connects one with local nonprofits to donate time while getting physically fit in the process. 

Eventista - connecting event planners with event service providers.

FliC - FliC is the world's simplest and most comprehensive contact sharing tool to eliminate the need for business cards.

Pro Shepherd - Event management and incident reporting app for charity runs and bike rides.

Thrive Thru - Healthy fast food drive-thru restaurant.

The first-place team receives a suite of prizes, including:

  • Five tickets to attend Bright Buffalo Niagara Forum
  • One-year membership to WNY Venture Association
  • Full scholarship to StartUp CEL from University at Buffalo
  • One-year membership to InfoTech WNY 
  • One-month membership to d!g for each individual on the team
  • Ten hours of interactive design work from Norris Clifton Creative

The second- and third-place teams will receive the following prizes:

  • One-year membership to WNY Venture Association
  • One-year membership to InfoTech WNY 
  • Five hours of interactive design work from Norris Clifton Creative

Additionally, every participant at Startup Weekend Buffalo will receive the following:

  • Website development and Web hosting for one year for any team that continues with 360 PSG
  • StartUp CEL discount coupon worth $200 from University at Buffalo
  • Day pass to d!g 

Further, event sponsor You and Who provided custom T-shirts from the company's Who's Hungry program, which teams donned throughout the competition. For every shirt provided to a Buffalo Startup Weekend participant, a meal will be donated to someone in need. As a result, You and Who is donating 144 meals to the Buffalo City Mission. Since Buffalo Startup Weekend's inception in November 2012, You and Who has donated a total of 4,316 meals from proceeds of the event's T-shirts to local shelters dedicated to helping the area's poor and homeless.

Buffalo Startup Weekend is a subsidiary program of Startup Weekend, a global nonprofit organization with a mission to connect local entrepreneurs and foster the development of new companies. Since its inception in November 2012, Buffalo Startup Weekend has connected more than 800 local entrepreneurs, developers, designers, startup enthusiasts and students with mentors and resources to launch Buffalo's next startups.

To view highlights from the inaugural Buffalo Startup Weekend, visit http://bit.ly/13iNDlK

Buffalo Startup Weekend is an intense, 54-hour event where local entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers, product managers, startup enthusiasts and anyone interested in building a business comes together to share ideas, form teams and launch a startup. For more information, visit www.buffalo.startupweekend.org.

Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered community leaders, and entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. The nonprofit organization is headquartered out of Seattle, but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in hundreds of cities around the world. For more information, visit www.startupweekend.org.

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