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Launch League Executive Director Courtney Gras (left) helps Not Yo' Daddy's Hot Sauce owners Cristina Gonzalez Alcala and Richelle Wardell perfect their pitch at the OSC Tech Lab Feb. 19 as part of the two-day SparkAK entrepreneurship bootcamp.

AKRON, Ohio - What do a bookstore, hot sauce and a pair programming app have in common? All are among the newest additions to Akron's emerging startup scene, thanks to SparkAK, a two-day entrepreneurship weekend hosted by Launch League Feb. 18-19.

Five Akron-based startups competed in the event, which brought together teams of developers, designers, marketers and finance pros to develop an existing startup or create a new one. With guidance from mentors, 20 entrepreneurs worked in teams nearly around the clock to create, prototype and market their startups and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.

"We want to make Akron the place to build a startup community," said Launch League Executive Director Courtney Gras. "The immersive format of SparkAK offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to test an idea in some cases, and in other cases, take an existing startup to the next level."

Teams worked all day Saturday and most of Sunday to generate ideas, refine them, and in some cases, generate more ideas. All teams worked in the OSC Tech Lab - an open design concept workspace designed to facilitate collaboration.

"You wouldn't think there would be much idea sharing between a hot sauce company and an app startup in the same room, but there is," said Gras.

On Sunday afternoon, the teams traveled to the Nightlight Cinema to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, who awarded the teams "prizes" in the form of assistance to help the startups get off the ground or scale up.

SparkAK participants included:

Not Yo' Daddy's Hot Sauce

Cristina Gonzalez Alcala and Richelle Wardell started "Not Yo' Daddy's," making a premium hot sauce with equal amounts of heat and flavor. The hot sauce, currently being produced at Sweet Mary's Bakery, is based on a 30-year-old family recipe handed down from Gonzalez's father.

"We named our product 'Not Yo' Daddy's' because it's not your daddy's, it's my daddy's," said Gonzalez.

The judges awarded Not Yo' Daddy's Hot Sauce a two-hour minimum viable product workshop and consultation with Magnet to help the team scale its business.

Sensei

Team members Carlton Ramsey, Nico Lindsey, Jocelyn Grant and Andrew Thornborough settled on Sensei, an online marketplace for technical trainers, after brainstorming several ideas and working with OSC Tech Lab mentors. The tool, which virtually connects information seekers to experts in a variety of fields was selected by the team for its potential to provide a fast and cost-effective solution, said Grant.

The judges awarded Sensei one month of co-working at OSC Tech Lab to give the team more time to work together.

Shoebox team member Edward Baus makes his pitch to the judges at Nightlight Cinema Feb. 19.

Shoebox

For team members Edward Baus, Marc Wolbert and Ben Lippincot the idea of creating an online "shoebox" tool to organize product information, warranties, receipts and even tax information seemed like an obvious solution to the missing warranty/receipt conundrum.

"Let's say I drive to Lowe's because I need a belt for my lawn mower," said Wolbert. "After I arrive, I realize I don't remember which model of mower I have, and therefore have no idea which belt to buy. Shoebox would solve that problem by facilitating the real-time accessibility of information, in this case, accessing my lawn-mower model so I know which belt to buy."

The judges awarded Shoebox a technical consulting session with Coffee and Code to help get the tool off the ground.

Maker Duet team members (left to right) Brandyn Costa, Ethan Schweinsberg and Rachel Wilkins Patel prepare for their pitch at the OSC Tech Lab Feb. 19.

Maker Duet

Maker Duet, the brainchild of Rachel Wilkins Patel, is a real-time collaboration software solution that allows senior and junior software developers to "pair program," which allows team members to collaborate, share knowledge and get work done faster.

"We know there are communication and collaboration obstacles in the tech field," said Patel. "With Maker Duet, we hope to break those barriers by providing an infrastructure that improves efficiency and gives junior developers a chance to learn and grow."

The judges awarded Maker Duet mentor-guided training from the University of Akron's iCorps program.

Rubber City Tales

According to Jessica Kaisk, establishing an Akron-based bookstore that would serve as a hub for writers, readers, students and families should be the next chapter in the city's ever-evolving story. Kaisk notes that while physical book stores have struggled creating a place artists and writers can mingle over coffee, or where immigrants can take language classes, would set her proposed store apart from traditional book stores.

The judges awarded Rubber City Tales a pitch consultation from Design Flux Technology.

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