Twenty-six aspiring entrepreneurs participated in the second Startup Weekend Guam event held Nov. 13 to 15 at the University of Guam School of Business and Public Administration.

The 54-hour event involved a creativity-fueled workshop that provided a platform for participants to meet like-minded enthusiasts, build their network, get insight with some of Guam's community leaders, and learn a new skill.

Governor Eddie Baza Calvo kicked-off Friday night with an inspirational speech. Next, 17 participants pitched their ideas, and six teams were formed overnight around the best ideas, which were chosen by public voting. These six teams spent Saturday working on their business plan while meeting and receiving mentorship from some of our local community’s business owners and professionals. On Sunday, the six teams presented to a panel of judges, who ultimately chose three teams to walk home with the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winning title.

Tuk Tuk Guam came in first place, which is a company that aims to incorporate the 'Hafa Adai' experience with tuktuk transportation for our tourists. The members of the Tuk Tuk Guam team won Quickbooks software with free admission to the Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) Quickbooks Bootcamp in 2016, free admission for the SBDC workshop “How to Start a Business,” and a donated phone from Docomo Pacific Guam to further communicate for their business.

In second place came Go Book Yourself, an innovative app, which would make booking and matching talent to venues an easy experience, ultimately enriching the experience and opportunities of artists as they travel. The third place winner was Social Wagon, a unique and fun pub-crawl experience. 

The panel of judges for the event included Deputy General Manager of the Guam Visitors Bureau Telo Taitague; President and Publisher of the Pacific Daily News  Rindraty Limtiaco; Director of Investments and Strategy at Calvo Enterprises Fabian Garces; Board Director of GEDA, President of Fun Food International Inc., and President & CEO of Quick Service Foods, Inc. Ernesto “Jun” Espaldon Jr.; and Co-owner of Pika’s Cafe and Kitchen Lingo  Pika Fejeran. Each team was judged on their business model, market validation, and execution and design.

The event was facilitated by Joseph Mateo and Jaran Aguon, and organized by Daria Calvo, Christian Cristobal, Thea Juaneza, Shalon Villaverde, Lisa Alicto and the UOG Entrepreneur Society.

See photos from Startup Weekend Guam on the UOG Flickr.