Judging panel: Stephen Green, entrepreneur and assistant vice president at Albina Community Bank; Sara Conte, co-founder and president at PrestoBox; Marcelino Alvarez, founder and CEO at Uncorked Studios ;Genevieve Morganstern, CEO at Sadie; Paola Moretto, CEO at Nouvola; and Junea Rocha, founder and CEO at Brazibites. A Loteria app — a Mexican game similar to bingo — targeted at English and Spanish language learners took home the overall prize at Portland’s first Startup Weekend Latino this weekend.
Ninety people participated in the event that aimed to bring the Startup Weekend model to a population of entrepreneurs who might not otherwise have known about the resource. Participants arrived on Friday at the Portland State University Business Accelerator and pitched ideas to the group. Seven teams then formed to spend the weekend building and gathering customer validation. By the end of the 54-hour challenge, the teams pitched to a panel of judges. Team creations ranged from apps, such as Loteringo, to a food business, an apparel brand and an Internet of Things application for agriculture. Juan Barraza, one of the event organizers, said the weekend required more education for entrepreneurs to introduce them to the concept of Startup Weekend. The whole point was to offer an entrance into the network of startup resources in Portland. Once word got out, sign-ups took off in the last week or so before the event, he said. He added that 75 percent of the participants were Latino. The judging panel consisted of: Marcelino Alvarez, founder and CEO at Uncorked Studios; Stephen Green, entrepreneur and assistant vice president at Albina Community Bank; Sara Conte, co-founder and president at PrestoBox; Junea Rocha, founder and CEO at Brazibites; Paola Moretto, CEO at Nouvola; and Genevieve Morganstern, CEO at Sadie. Barraza is already busy planning next year's event. “We want to build a following. What we did was set up and get a community into place to participate,” he said. “The call to action is there,” he said, making reference to diversity efforts in the startup and tech community in Portland. “The Latino community needs to answer.” Following the weekend activities, teams are invited to participate in two more events. One takes place next month on how to pitch to investors, held at Quick Left and supported by Portland Seed Fund, TiE and the Portland Development Commission. The other occurs in August, focusing on one-to-one work on legal, accounting and go-to-market strategy. The second event is slated for the eBay Community Lounge and supported by Oregon Entrepreneurs Network and the PDC. The next Startup Weekend in the region is slated for the weekend of July 24 — Startup Weekend Vancouver, at Clark College. Do you want to learn how you can get big brand value on a small business budget? What can you do to increase customer loyalty, and get the recognition your business needs?
Discover what a brand is, why it matters, and how easy it is to create one for your business. If you completed our Big Brand Challenge (it’s ok if you haven’t yet), then your brand is ready to conquer the world! Now get ready to connect with customers in a whole new way. Join Sara Conte, small business branding guru, on Friday, June 19 at 12:30pm EST for a webinar that’s chock full of insider tips to get your business noticed. A long-time branding expert, Sara has worked with hundreds of small businesses to get them ready for launch. Sara will review key learnings from the Big Brand Challenge and share her checklist for liftoff including top technologies to make your life easier. And then, get ready for blast-off to a new stratosphere of business success. Space is limited, so register today! Click here to register »About Sara Conte: Sara Conte is the Co-Founder and President of PrestoBox, the world’s first automated branding agency. The “Brand Genie” software instantly determines your brand and creates a logo, website, business card, and brand guide that all work together. Click here to learn more about the Brand Genie. Sara’s helped build businesses big and small since the first Internet boom. She loves learning new tricks every day in SEO, customer service, sales, growth hacking, analytics and the art of partnership. Welcome to Day 5 of the Big Brand Challenge—the last day!
On Day 1 and 2 of the challenge, you laid the foundation for your brand. On Day 1 we defined who we are, on Day 2 we defined what we looked like, on Day 3 we created (or updated) your logo, and on Day 4 we outlined those essential marketing materials you needed to create. Now it’s time to prepare your brand for liftoff! Branding might get you ready for the date—but marketing gets you the date. Before you are ready to move from the branding to the marketing phase, you need to follow these five steps. How the challenge works If you’ve signed up to take part in the challenge, each day you’ll receive an email with a link to the relevant article. Each article will contain a worksheet in a few different formats: written out, as a PDF download, or as an infographic. How you choose to work through the challenge is up to you. Once you’ve finished with the entire 5 Day challenge, you will need to submit your “before and after story” to PrestoBox. Welcome to Day 4 of the Big Brand Challenge
On Day 1 and Day 2 of the challenge you laid the foundation for your brand. On Day 1 we defined who we are, on Day 2 we defined what we looked like, and on Day 3 we created (or updated) your logo. Now it’s time to update your marketing materials! How the challenge works If you’ve signed up to take part in the challenge, each day you’ll receive an email with a link to the relevant article. Each article will contain a worksheet in a few different formats: written out, as a PDF download, or as an infographic. How you choose to work through the challenge is up to you. Once you’ve finished with the entire 5 Day Challenge, you will need to submit your “before and after story” to PrestoBox. However, for the moment don’t worry about that, we will remind you at the end. Just focus on figuring out who you are and who your company is. Above all, enjoy yourself! For Day 4, you’re going to work through creating or updating your marketing materials. Let’s get started. Episode 11: Sara Conte: Build a Brand that Creates ‘Loyalty Beyond Reason’
In this episode, co-founder of PrestoBox Sara Conte shares some of the growth strategies PrestoBox has used to build their customer base. Sara also talks about the psychology of brand strategy and how even the smallest business can start with a brand that connects with the personality of the company. Businesses that last and create loyalty and stand out in a crowded world need a brand that is memorable. If you want know more about creating a brand that communicates who you are, you’ll want to hear what Sara has to say. Welcome to Day 3 of the Big Brand Challenge
In Day 1 and 2 of the challenge, you laid the foundation for your brand. On Day 1 we defined who we are, on Day 2 we defined what we looked like. Now it’s time to bring it to life with your logo. Your logo is the core representation of your brand. It doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, simpler is often better. However, it must be consistent with the values you have defined. Start with this worksheet to define what you look like. Then see how your results compare with the magic of the Brand Genie. How the challenge works If you’ve signed up to take part in the challenge, each day you’ll receive an email with a link to the relevant article. Each article will contain a worksheet in a few different formats: written out, as a PDF download, or as an infographic. How you choose to work through the challenge is up to you. Once you’ve finished with the entire 5 Day challenge, you will need to submit your “before and after story” to PrestoBox. However, for the moment don’t worry about that, we will remind you at the end. Just focus on figuring out who you are and who your company is. Above all, enjoy yourself! For Day 3, you’re going to work through creating or updating your logo. Let’s get started. Welcome to Day 2 of the Big Brand Challenge
On Day 1, we defined who we are. Now we need to know—what do we look like? Take out your worksheet from yesterday and review your responses. The images you selected begin to define how your brand might look to the outside world. But you need to create a brand guide so you have a roadmap of what this really looks like. Think of creating your brand like dating. The date has a higher chance of going well if you’ve carefully chosen your outfit, brushed your teeth, and showered. Once you have defined your brand with colors, fonts, images, and personality, dates with your customers will also be much more likely to go well. Start with this worksheet to define what you look like. Then see how your results compare with the magic of the Brand Genie. How the challenge works If you’ve signed up to take part in the challenge, each day you’ll receive an email with a link to the relevant article. Each article will contain a worksheet in a few different formats: written out, as a PDF download, or as a graphic. How you choose to work through the challenge is up to you. Once you’ve finished with the entire 5 Day Challenge, you will need to submit your “before and after story” to PrestoBox. However, for the moment don’t worry about that, we will remind you at the end. Just focus on figuring out who you are and who your company is. Above all, enjoy yourself! For Day 2, you’re going to work through answering some key questions about your “look.” Let’s get started. Welcome to Day 1 of the Big Brand ChallengeToday we focus on the core of branding—defining who we are.
Take a good look at your business. Your customers can’t begin to understand your value proposition unless you know it yourself. How the challenge works If you’ve signed up to take part in the challenge, each day you’ll receive an email with a link to the relevant article. Each article will contain a worksheet in a few different formats: written out, as a PDF download, or as an infographic. How you choose to work through the challenge is up to you. Once you’ve finished with the entire five-day challenge, you will need to submit your “before and after story” to PrestoBox. However, for the moment don’t worry about that, we will remind you at the end. Just focus on figuring out who you are and who your company is. Above all, enjoy yourself! For Day 1, you’re going to work through answering some key questions. Let’s get started. |
AuthorSara Conte is a frequent contributor to online discussions about strategy, automation, branding and entrepreneurship. Categories
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