Fairbanks Techstars Startup Weekend Success

April 10, 2023

From Feb. 17–19 UAF’s Center ICE brought together students, community members, and volunteers to run Techstars Fairbanks Startup Weekend 2023. Facilitated by Lee Ngo and organized by Ashley Guernsey, participants learned to pitch ideas, conducted customer discovery, and set about refining and researching business ideas. Self-formed teams from the weekend included diverse representation from UAF undergraduate and graduate students, as well as community members including alumni and local business owners. The 54-hour-long facilitated event culminated with four teams participating in a pitch night in the UAF BP Design Center which was attended by more than 50 community members and sponsors. Center ICE and Techstars partnered to help Fairbanks dream bigger — for community, business, and innovation — for Alaska and beyond. 

Teams

Winning team: Write That Down - speech-to-text app for organizing thoughts and notes

Second Place: Cruise Again - retrofitting classic motorcycles with cruise control and other safety features

Third Place: Minutemen - browser that puts content control in the hands of the user, protecting the user from algorithmic harm

Honorable Mention: Alaska Shower Kit - designing deployable shower kits for Arctic environments at a fraction of the cost

Prizes

• Above and Beyond - Millard Arnold and Skyler Smith
• Leadership Prize - Christopher Munoz
• Competitor Prize - Finn Morley
• Audience Prize - Minuteman

Fairbanks Startup Weekend Team 

• Organizing: Ashley Guernsey (Lead), Peter Webley, Sarah Stanley, Jasamine Spencer, Vanessa Raymond, Kevin Huo, Tate Barhaug, Glen Woodworth
• Mentors: Telesom, ACEP, University of Alaska Press, McKinley Bank, OneTree Alaska
• Judges: Ursa Major Distillery, Castillo Group, Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, Fairbanks Reentry Coalition, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Water and Sewer Challenge
• About Lee Ngo, Startup Weekend Facilitator
• Educator and filmmaker from Portland, Ore. 
• This was his 23rd startup weekend

2x Entrepreneur 

Sponsors 

• UAF Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (Center ICE)
• Alaska NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
• UAF Alumni Association
• OneTree Alaska
• Sipping Streams Tea Company
• Web907
• Patent and Trademark Resource Center: Fairbanks
• UAF College of Business and Security Management (CBSM)
• Associated Students of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (ASUAF)
• UAF Student Leadership and Involvement Office (SLI)
• Mt. McKinley Bank
• Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor’s Office