Zillow Hosts Startup Weekend Seattle

Nine teams of aspiring entrepreneurs spent Oct. 3-5 pitching and developing new business ideas.

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Fueled by pizza and dreams of tech startup stardom, 82 aspiring entrepreneurs spent Oct. 3-5 creating and developing new business ideas at Startup Weekend at Zillow’s Seattle office. Participants pitched their products and services on Friday night and voted on nine ideas to spend the rest of the weekend building — from an app that aimed to thaw the “Seattle freeze” by gamifying social interactions to a service that reunited you with your lost puppy.

The nine teams presented their final ideas Sunday night to a panel of three judges: Kristin Acker, VP of product teams at Zillow; Scott Porad, chief technology officer at Rover; and Tim Porter, managing director at Madrona Venture Group. The winning team, Customshaus, focused on making importing and exporting easy for small businesses. The team won a free month of co-working space at WeWork.

Startup Weekend is a part of UP Global, a nonprofit that aims to build strong communities by fostering entrepreneurship and grassroots leadership internationally. Check out upcoming programs here.