Startup Weekend is a unique experience designed to push aspiring entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into reality in just 54 hours. It brings together people from diverse backgrounds—creatives, developers, marketers, business professionals, and anyone with a spark for innovation.
The event takes place over the course of a weekend and is divided into three main phases: pitching and team formation on Friday, building the business on Saturday, and final presentations on Sunday.
By the end of the weekend, participants have not only created new businesses but have also built meaningful connections, learned new skills, and gained insights from seasoned mentors.
This year's Startup Weekend Conejo Valley was no exception. The energy was electric, the ideas were inspiring, and the teams worked tirelessly to bring their projects to life. Here’s a recap of the weekend’s journey from raw ideas to polished startup pitches.
Friday: Sparking Creativity and Forming Teams
Friday evening is when the magic begins. Participants filter in, excited but also a little unsure about what’s to come. The room is filled with people from all walks of life—students, seasoned professionals, hobbyists—each bringing their unique skills and perspectives to the table. After everyone gets settled, we dive right into the first activity of the evening: Half-Baked.
Half-Baked is an icebreaker game designed to show that anyone can come up with a business idea, no matter how random or far-fetched it seems. Attendees shout out random words, which are written down on the whiteboard.
Once a bunch of words are collected, participants are divided into teams, and each team selects two words from the list. From there, they have just 10 minutes to come up with a business idea based on their two words.
This year's Half-Baked game gave us some hilarious and creative combinations that led to surprisingly thoughtful startup ideas. A few standout word combinations included: Gator Shrooms, Duck Trombone, and Chicken Tiles.
These seemingly ridiculous word pairings forced participants to think quickly, creatively, and without any pressure to "succeed." While none of these ideas were pitched as real startups, the exercise helped to break the ice and proved that coming up with a business idea can be fun and spontaneous.
After the icebreaker, we moved into Pitch Fire—the main event of Friday night. Participants had 60 seconds to pitch their startup ideas to the group. These pitches varied widely, ranging from app-based solutions to solve modern problems to innovative physical products.
Once all the ideas were pitched, everyone got three Post-It notes to vote for their favorite ideas. The top-rated pitches would become the ideas that teams would work on for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday: The Grind Begins
With teams formed around the most popular startup ideas from Friday night, Saturday is when the real work begins.
From early in the morning, teams gather in their areas, armed with coffee, notebooks, laptops, and a vision to turn their raw ideas into something concrete. Teams spend the day refining their concepts, creating business models, conducting customer validation, building prototypes, and preparing their pitch decks. It’s a whirlwind of brainstorming, researching, and collaborating, and teams rely heavily on each other's skills to move forward.
Throughout the day, participants attend optional workshops to gain insights into key startup concepts like customer development, creating a minimum viable product (MVP), and crafting a compelling pitch. Mentors also circulate the space, offering advice and answering questions. They act as sounding boards, helping teams troubleshoot issues and think critically about their ideas.
Sunday: The Final Countdown
As the weekend comes to a close, Sunday is all about wrapping up projects and preparing for the final presentations. Teams have just a few hours to finalize their business models, refine their prototypes, and practice their pitches. The atmosphere is intense but exciting, as everyone rushes to get their startup in the best possible shape before presenting to the judges.
Around 5 PM, the final presentations begin. Each team gets five minutes to pitch their startup to a panel of judges, followed by a few minutes of Q&A. The judges evaluate each startup based on the idea’s potential, execution, and scalability. It’s a nerve-wracking experience for the teams, but the excitement in the room is palpable.
The Teams
This year, the five main teams worked on a range of innovative ideas:
ClearConsent:
Team members: Khasanjon Bobokhojaev and Khusanjon Bobokhojaev
An AI-driven solution to simplify and clarify terms and conditions. With ClearConsent, users can easily understand the privacy implications of the services they use. By analyzing complex legal documents, ClearConsent helps users make informed decisions and customize their privacy preferences. The team worked hard to design a user-friendly interface and integrate AI-powered features to give users more control over their personal data.
ClearConsent won the Most Relatable Award for tackling a problem that almost everyone has experienced—overwhelming and unreadable terms and conditions.
Companion.ai:
Team members: James Coleman, James Werbe, Pia Valtierra, Justin McCullough, and Minchuan Wu
An AI-based emotional support platform that acts as a virtual companion. Designed to work alongside traditional therapy, Companion.ai helps users through tough times by offering non-clinical feedback based on research-backed techniques. The team spent the weekend refining their AI algorithms and exploring ways to create a supportive, empathetic virtual assistant.
Companion.ai won the Social Impact Award with their mission to bring accessible emotional support to anyone in need.
AD YOU:
Team members: Suren Sarkissian and Benjamin Sottile
This team developed a one-stop platform to simplify the process of building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Their idea mirrored the solar panel leasing model, where homeowners could lease ADUs and receive a revenue share. The team dove into market research to understand the regulations around ADUs and worked on partnerships with builders and lenders to bring their vision to life.
AD YOU won the Greatest Potential Award for their innovative approach to addressing the housing crisis.
ALTERX:
Team members: Giulianna Gasparotto and Jamie Hay
ALTERX aimed to create a platform where people could explore their passions through AI-powered tools. With different worlds like "Creativa" for creatives and "Zentura" for self-development, ALTERX helps users explore new career paths, develop skills, and even earn money. The team worked tirelessly to define each world and build a compelling user experience.
ALTERX won the Most Creative World Award for their imaginative vision and the way they incorporated cutting-edge technology into personal growth.
FishDirect:
Team members: Carter Grant, Justin Boals, and Zane Hermann
FishDirect is a platform that connects fishermen directly with consumers, ensuring fresh fish products at lower prices while supporting local economies. The team validated their idea by talking to local fishermen and potential customers. They focused on creating a simple and efficient marketplace that benefits both sides of the supply chain.
FishDirect won the Best Overall Award for their customer validation, MVP, and business model.
Why Startup Weekend Matters
Startup Weekend is about more than just launching a business in 54 hours—it’s about the process of creation, collaboration, and learning. The event challenges participants to think on their feet, work outside their comfort zones, and embrace both failure and success as part of the entrepreneurial journey. Even if teams don’t walk away with a fully formed startup, the skills they learn and the relationships they build are invaluable.
The energy and passion from this year’s event were inspiring, and it’s clear that Startup Weekend Conejo Valley is a breeding ground for innovation. Whether participants leave with a new business, new friends, or new insights into entrepreneurship, everyone walks away having grown in some way.
So, to everyone who participated this year—whether you pitched an idea, joined a team, or simply came to observe—thank you for being part of something truly special. We can’t wait to see what you create next!
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