From 15 to 17 November the fifth edition of Startup Weekend took place in Moldova. As always, the event attracted large numbers of young people who wanted to create something new.

As it always happens at “working weekends”, on Friday the participants expressed their ideas, built teams and got down to work. After all the qualifying rounds the following teams were allowed to proceed to the main activity:

Proofy – a social network game.
Best Choice – a social networking application based on the principles of socionics that allows to check your compatibility with your partner (friend, colleague or lover).
Social Media Kingdom – a platform for photographers, designers and clients.
Plec si eu – a website for those wishing to travel cheaper by finding fellow travelers.
GeoFriends – a social networking application that allows you to easily locate your friends and family.
3D Print Lab – allows to make your idea real by turning it into a 3D printed model.
SnapShopper – a database of all offline stores.
DeLaTara – online grocery store selling food products directly from the manufacturer, and namely from local farmers.
Vintage – a website that allows manufacturers and retailers of interior design items (paintings, curtains, etc.) to offer new items using the layout of the client’s room.
TYPR – a book of complaints and suggestions available for different service users.
Hroot – this online resource was created to facilitate the search for employees and employers.
HashStream – news feed based on hashtags.
OwnApp – an application that allows you to create your applications for all existing platforms (IOS, Android).

After completion of the projects and presentation of working prototypes the awards were assigned by the judges as follows:

1. Third place went to Social Media Kingdom. The team received 1000$ for online advertising from the company Simpals for further promotion of the product and 10,000 lei from the company Orange Moldova for further work.

2. Second place – HashStream. The guys got 2000$ for online advertising from Simpals and 15,000 lei from Orange Moldova.

3. The winner of the 5th edition of Startup Weekend was the project DeLaTara! The team received the following prizes: 3000$ for online advertising from Simpals and 20,000 lei from Orange Moldova.

Roman Shtirbu – mentor and judge of the 5th edition of SWM, mentor of the business incubator Simpals Garage: “There were a lot of questions from the audience why the first place went to the project De La Tara. Well, first of all, the guys have been working on this project for a long time. At the previous weekend they presented a similar idea. They have a well-formed team and they proved that they can do something. Secondly, their project is simple, clear and, most importantly, patriotic. Hopefully, the guys will manage to help local manufacturers deliver high-quality products to consumers and reach new levels of efficiency. Nevertheless, I would like to put a bit of tar into the spoon by saying that recently SWM has turned into a Power Point presentation. Very few teams show a working prototype at the end of the weekend. That’s too bad”.

Vitaly Rudnev – mentor of the 5th edition of SWM, director of the online store 999.md: “There were two projects that I especially liked: Proofy and GeoFriends. I believe that if the teams work hard on them, they will have a great opportunity to make money from their ideas. If we discuss each project separately, then we can say that Proofy is an interesting social game (based on game like “Truth or Dare”) which can gain popularity both in our country and abroad if it gets a sufficient number of users. As for GeoFriends, it’s a good way to find new acquaintances. This application will help people overcome embarrassment and make new friends based on common interest.
In general, I enjoyed the weekend, the guys did a great job! It was the first time I participated in the event as a mentor, so I’m glad that my experience and advice turned out to be useful for the teams. I hope, the teams will not abandon their projects and we’ll see results of their work in the nearest future”.

Our congratulations to all the participants and winners of the 5th edition of SWM! But if you have an idea that you would like to implement, you don’t need to wait till the next event. The business incubator Simpals Garage is always open for young startuppers.