Since it’s first event in 2013, CodeLaunch has provided at least $1.5 million in professional software development and services to startup founders, but it has not seen any active venture capitalists make cash investments on our stages. On Nov 15th that will change.

Cyrannus $150K Investment Challenge 

All startup founders who advanced to the semifinal round between CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 and DFW 2023 will be in the running for the Cyrannus $150K investment challenge. Cyrannus founder Lee Mosbacker will announce two winners on Nov 15th, the best Cyrannus score “Commercial” startup will receive $100K and the best “Impact” startup will receive $50K! The Cyrannus platform launches in October and will be debuted at our DFW event.

Cyrannus Founder Lee Mosbacker wants to reward CodeLaunch participants with the opportunity to get real cash into their business. A Cyrannus spokesperson says there could be two separate winners, but if one winner scored the highest for both challenges, they can receive a total of $150K in investments. Cyrannus is back as presenting sponsor of CodeLaunch for it’s 6th consecutive event.

“Not only will they get the cash investment, but the founders will also be introduced to a network that will help them refine their idea and prepare them for a follow on raise.”

– Lee Mosbacker, Founder of Cyrannus  

You can learn more about the $150K challenge here.

CodeLaunch Returns to DFW

CodeLaunch, produced by Improving and presented by Cyrannus, is making its way back to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area for its 11th consecutive annual competition in the Metroplex on November 15th, helping early-stage tech startups accelerate using our unique spin on the seed accelerator model. For entrepreneurs who want to change the trajectory of their startups by competing in CodeLaunch, the application portal will be open from August 23rd through September 24th!

CodeLaunch stands as the DFW region’s longest-running annual startup event, merging elements of a seed accelerator startup competition, a professional developer product building competition, a tech tradeshow, a startup conference, and a dynamic networking platform. Over the past decade, this touring competition has provided more than $1.5 million in software development and invaluable services to its finalists and overall champions.

CodeLaunch has helped launch noteworthy startups since its inception in North Texas in 2013. Companies like CharaChorder, ProsRent, StyleRow, KidStrong, Autix, and more were launched and accelerated through the competition. ProsRent’s exit in January of this year proved the CodeLaunch model is for real and sustainable.

CodeLaunch DFW 2023 will be held at the South Side Ballroom at Gilley’s. Improving and Contollo have already signed on to be professional hackathon sponsors, which means these leading consulting brands will provide teams to work with finalists, ensuring their technical products are accelerated and founders can close a seed round of funding.

“We are excited to have CodeLaunch back in DFW for the 11th year and it’s going to be bigger than ever. We are proud to be supporting the startup ecosystem in this way as it aligns with our commitment to Conscious Capitalism, but even more importantly, it’s making a real difference for the folks in the community.“

– David O’Hara, Improving Dallas President

Contollo, one of our professional hackathon sponsors, has partnered with CodeLaunch at every competition since dipping their toes into CodeLaunch in Nov 2022 and plans to continue their fantastic work in the “Professional Coder League” – the moniker given to professional dev teams that enter the competition.

“As a nearshore software development company with a mission to elevate technology professionals in Central America, we found an ideal partner in CodeLaunch, a platform that shares our values of innovation and conscientious capitalism. From Dallas and Houston to Atlanta, and finally to Mexico, every event we’ve attended has been an enriching experience for our team, both professionally and personally. These gatherings haven’t just met our expectations; they’ve exceeded them, enriching us economically, expanding our network, and most importantly, developing our team members into leaders and technical virtuosos.“

– Isaac Carter, Contollo Founder and Chief Technologist

Important Information for Applying Startup Founders

CodeLaunch is a free amenity for startups. It costs nothing to apply, and it does not take equity. All you need is a pitch deck, code-ready mockups, and a bucket of passion. It’s important to note that CodeLaunch competitions are open to founders from any geography or market, not just the host market. 

Startups drafted by a PCL team become “finalists”, so the mockups uploaded when you apply should be what you plan to build in your 2-day professional hackathon. This is an example of how CodeLaunch is one-of-a-kind. Each PCL team races to accelerate their drafted startup’s product development hoping to win the PCL team prize money ($2,500 in DFW) for themselves and the coveted Hackathon Championship Belt trophy for their brand. During the pitch competition and showcase event on November 15th, each startup product is demonstrated live for the first time in front of an audience of tech innovators and investors, who then interactively vote to determine winners.

If all this isn’t enough, CodeLaunch is a loud, flashy and notoriously raucous business party.

“CodeLaunch is a startups and rock-n-roll show like nothing you’ve ever seen before! It’s not like the ‘Pitch Events’ we’ve all been to. Its the greatest startup show on earth!”

– Jason W. Taylor, Founder of CodeLaunch

Ready to apply? Start Here and apply through September 24th!

Don’t miss the finale, grab your tickets here!

Media, Exhibit, and Sponsorship Inquiries 

Brands who want to support and align with our Conscious Capitalism-inspired mission by Exhibiting, Partnering, or sponsoring CodeLaunch can find out more by emailing our President and Founder, Jason W. Taylor. 

CodeLaunch, produced by Improving and presented by Cyrannus, had an incredible impact on the Mexican startup community after the first-ever international CodeLaunch competition in Guadalajara!

Congratulations to Norman Cognitive Agriculture for winning the event! They worked with their professional hackathon sponsor, Contollo, throughout the week to claim the title of “Best Startup in Mexico”. 

“I do not have words to express how thankful we are for all your support. CodeLaunch was not only a launching platform but also a huge learning experience for me and all Norman Team. I never thought that after the event we would not only improve our entrepreneurship but also we grow a lot as a human beings!”

– Norman Cognitive Agriculture Founder Ramon Diaz

Contollo’s Founder and Chief Technologist Isaac Carter says his company has found an ideal partner in CodeLaunch after being a part of every competition within the past year.

“As a nearshore software development company with a mission to elevate technology professionals in Central America, we found an ideal partner in CodeLaunch, a platform that shares our values of innovation and conscientious capitalism. From Dallas and Houston to Atlanta, and finally to Mexico, every event we’ve attended has been an enriching experience for our team, both professionally and personally. These gatherings haven’t just met our expectations; they’ve exceeded them, enriching us economically, expanding our network, and most importantly, developing our team members into leaders and technical virtuosos.”

– Contollo Founder and Chief Technologist Isaac Carter

BizBat also went home as a winner after receiving the Judges Choice award.

The judges for CodeLaunch Mexico 2023 were Cyrannus Founder Lee Mosbacker, Science and Technology Minister of Innovation Alfonso Pompa Padilla, Buscabot CEO Melissa Mendivil, and Bosch Mexico Innovation Manager Maria Fernanda Reyes Flores.

CodeLaunch attendees were also able to enjoy the event’s various exhibitors before and after the competition. This brought an extensive amount of networking to the Tec De Monterey Campus.

We want to give a major thank you to our presenting sponsor, Cyrannus for their support during CodeLaunch Mexico 2023. The show would not have been such a spectacular success without you! 

Also, thank you to our Professional Hackathon Sponsors who worked tirelessly with our finalists to ensure their technical products were accelerated and that they could close a seed round of funding. 

• Contollo 
• Softeq
• Dalton Labs 
• Blue People
• DW Software
• Improving 

And a shoutout to all of the CodeLaunch Mexico 2023 finalists whose digital product platforms have been accelerated by our PCL hackathon sponsors and now have a much greater chance to raise and close investments.

Lastly, we want to thank the Guadalajara community for embracing CodeLaunch! We could not have put together this event without our community sponsors, partners, and supporters.

About CodeLaunch

CodeLaunch is a traveling seed accelerator and startup expo that connects early-stage startups with invaluable seed services critical to stimulating their business. Unlike many startup accelerators, CodeLaunch is completely free to apply, and no equity is surrendered. 

The professional hackathon is one way that CodeLaunch is truly unique. Each finalist is paired with a professional development team that accelerates product development and builds out as much of their MVP as possible in a 2-day time frame. During the pitch competition, the product is demoed live and for the first time in front of a live audience, who then votes for the overall winner. 

CodeLaunch Mexico 2023 went above and beyond our expectations! We are thankful for everyone who came out to support the event and the Mexico startup community. 

CodeLaunch DFW 2023 Is Right Around the Corner!

CodeLaunch heads home to Dallas on November 15th! Our application portal is open now until September 24th for startup founders and teams to apply at no cost. Apply now!

CodeLaunch, produced by Improving and presented by Cyrannus, made a tremendous mark on the Atlanta startup community during the second event in the Peach State.

Congratulations to CASTU for winning the event! They worked with their hackathon sponsor, Improving Atlanta, throughout the week to claim the title of “Best Startup in Atlanta”. 

CASTU Founder Taylor Ri’chard says he could not have won CodeLaunch without the help of his team’s professional hackathon sponsor, Improving.

“It felt so good. Not only were they excited about working on our project, but they believed in it.”

Taylor Ri’chard, CASTU Founder

Improving’s John Ruznick says the feeling is mutual. The team had a blast working with CASTU and saw their vision for the future.

“They are a great bunch of folks that we had a pleasure working with. It was a whirlwind 24 hours developing for them.”

John Ruzick, Professional Hackathon Team Member for Improving

FundHub also went home a winner! The startup won over the judges and was given the Judge’s Choice award.

Tim Butler, FundHub’s founder, tells us he did not make it to the finals for the previous CodeLaunch. He was determined to make the stage this time around and is honored to take home the award given by CodeLaunch judges.

“I’m so excited. It has been a 4 1/2-year journey for us, and I would not take anything from our journey now.

Tim Butler, FundHub Founder

Our judges for CodeLaunch ATL 2023 were Cyrannus Founder, Lee Mosbacker, Technology Association of Georgia Director, Dr. Loretta Daniels, Contract Sprint Chief Visionary, Jonathan Page, and THRIVE Coworking Chief Revenue Officer, Chris Smith.

CodeLaunch attendees were also able to enjoy the event’s various exhibitors before and after the competition. This brought an extensive amount of networking to the lobby of the gorgeous Buckhead Theatre.

We want to give a major thank you to our presenting sponsor, Cyrannus for their support during CodeLaunch ATL 2023. The show would not have been such a spectacular success without you! 

Also, thank you to our Professional Hackathon Sponsors who worked tirelessly with our finalists to ensure their technical products were accelerated and that they can close a seed round of funding. 

• Contollo + Wise Assistant 
• Build Technology Group + FundHub 
• Abel Solutions + Agrippon 
• PS-AI + Practice-Quest 
• Improving Nearshore + UnicornForms 
• Improving Atlanta + Cast-U 

Shoutout to all of the CodeLaunch ATL 2023 finalists who will now go on to launch viable startup companies! 

View the CodeLaunch ATL 2023 photo gallery here.

All About CodeLaunch

CodeLaunch is a traveling seed accelerator and startup expo that connects early-stage startups with invaluable seed services critical to stimulating their business. Unlike many startup accelerators, CodeLaunch is completely free to apply, and no equity is surrendered. 

The professional hackathon is one way that CodeLaunch is truly unique. Each finalist is paired with a professional development team that accelerates product development and builds out as much of their MVP as possible in a 2-day time frame. During the pitch competition, the product is demoed live and for the first time in front of a live audience, who then votes for the overall winner. 

CodeLaunch ATL 2023 went above and beyond our expectations! We are thankful for everyone who came out to support the event and the Atlanta startup community. 

CodeLaunch Mexico is Around the Corner!

CodeLaunch is going international and you can apply to be a part of the competition NOW!

We are headed to Guadalajara, Mexico on August 30th. The event is open to Mexico-Based startups who want to succeed and evolve through our unique spin on the seed accelerator model.

Our application portal is open now until June 16th for startup founders and teams to apply at no cost. This event is open to Mexico-based startups only. Learn more about what you need to apply and about this First International CodeLaunch Competition by reading this blog post.

CodeLaunch ATL 2023 Hackathon Teams

In the high-stakes world of startup entrepreneurship, the narrative of CharaChorder stands out not only as an example of innovative product development, but also as a masterclass in securing startup funding. 

CharaChorder’s startup journey began in 2019 when Riley Keen strolled into the CodeLaunch office clutching a peculiar-looking device – a concept that would later revolutionize how we type. Now, in 2023, CharaChorder boasts a thriving business, multiple product lines, and a global user base.

The genesis of CharaChorder is rooted in its mission – to vastly accelerate the average human typing speed from 40 words per minute to 250 words per minute, mirroring the pace of human reading comprehension. In under four years since the product’s grand reveal at CodeLaunch 7, the company has made giant strides toward achieving this ambitious goal.

Startup Funding and CodeLaunch: A Defining Moment

So, what exactly is CharaChorder? Unlike the QWERTY-based typing method we are accustomed to, CharaChorder utilizes a state-of-the-art chorded keyboard that allows users to input the letters of a word both individually and simultaneously while the internal processor automatically arranges the letters on the screen in real time.

This hyper-fluent interface was inspired by Riley’s personal experience living at home with his non-verbal father. This groundbreaking device would now allow him to communicate at the same speed that we speak.

The first version of CharaChorder, dubbed CharaChorder One was showcased for the first time at CodeLaunch and operates via the movement of the device, replacing the need for standard typing. This innovative concept harmoniously combines traditional and novel typing methods, underpinning CharaChorder’s success.

“CodeLaunch was a significant turning point for us, marking the first public display of our product, years in the making,” reminisces Riley Keen, CharaChorder’s founder. The platform not only presented the perfect timing but also the ideal audience for unveiling the fruits of their labor.

Startup Funding and Beyond: The CharaChorder CodeLaunch Experience

Despite not securing the winning title at CodeLaunch 7, CharaChorder still emerged victorious. They gained access to free software development services through the startup competition, along with a platform to showcase their innovation. Connections established at CodeLaunch continue to be integral to Riley’s network, encompassing investors and a team member of the winning startup, 3GStrong, who currently uses CharaChorder at their workplace.

After CodeLaunch, the CharaChorder team explored other avenues of startup funding. They attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), attracting the interest of angel investors. Crowdfunding through Kickstarter was also leveraged, enabling customers to pre-order their inaugural commercial product. Their startup funding journey culminated in a profitable year in 2022.

Harnessing social media, Riley also built a following of over 150K on TikTok, which proved instrumental in promoting their product without heavy advertising expenditure.

A Unique Take on Startup Funding: Riley’s Advice to Founders

With only about half a million dollars in startup funding, CharaChorder’s financial trajectory deviates from the norm of multi-million dollar funds associated with startup success. Riley’s take on startup funding emphasizes not relying solely on investments. He believes in minimizing undue pressure on entrepreneurs and investors, which often results in premature product launches that could jeopardize the company or product’s viability.

Riley’s sage advice to startups: Utilize your investments to expand your brand and products, but don’t let them be your lifeline. CharaChorder has made strategic decisions regarding its investors, inviting contributions from lawyers who offer additional contract-related advice and technology industry insiders who help refine their products.

Future Goals: The Road Ahead

With their startup funding journey behind them, CharaChorder’s 2023 goal is straightforward. They aim to ramp up their product delivery to weekly schedules (a vast improvement from the previous 3-4 month wait time) and incorporate customer feedback to enhance their offerings.

“We owe our accomplishments to our community. Their unique insights guide us to improve every day. That’s how you elevate a company,” says Riley. This inclusive approach reflects the team’s belief that creating something for marginalized groups can have widespread benefits.

For more insights about CharaChorder, its products, and its mission, visit its website here. Hear more from Riley on our podcast We Code, You Launch, a live weekly interactive session open to our growing Discord community every Monday from 4:30-5:30 CDT. Listen to Riley’s episode now.

Finally, as we gear up for our second competition in Atlanta on May 10th, we invite you to join us and experience the exciting world of startup funding and launches. Find out all about this startup event here!

Learn about each final startup before the final competition on March 2nd!

Professional Hackathon Team: Blue People

Tell us about Drivingo:

Drivingo is the world’s first completely automated Drive-Thru system. It uses ASL-based gestures trained by machine learning to take users’ orders without ever needing to speak with an employee. As it stands, many companies within the quick-service-restaurant industry are suffering from a multitude of lawsuits, as a direct result of their gap in accessibility and lack of sensitivity training. Companies know this is an issue, but don’t know how to solve it; that’s where Drivingo comes in. We offer much-needed sensitivity training as well as our own software that allows anyone to order quickly and easily. In addition, our software also eliminates some identified issues within this industry, such as inaccurate sensors, leading to faulty data when reviewing lead times.  

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

Codelaunch provides an amazing stage for us to present Drivingo to such a diverse audience. We’ve also been given access to incredible resources, pushing us further along our goals than we could have ever done ourselves at such an early stage in our start-up. Being a member of the Codelaunch family gives us an opportunity to make meaningful and impactful connections with potential partners and investors.  

Professional Hackathon Team: Contollo

Tell us about Inpathy:

Inpathy is a social app creating empathetic communities through transparency, normalizing moods, and recreating the social media experience to better serve people’s well-being and digital identity formation. 

Inpathy’s mission is to create a social platform that promotes emotional intelligence and mental wellness, rather than contributing to the increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and dissatisfaction among young people. At Inpathy, we believe social media has connected us for a greater purpose beyond use as a tool for entertainment, networking, and monetization. Therefore, we believe social media is not in its final form. Inpathy will be the future of social tech that uses social media and AI to provide digital mental health solutions. 

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

Team Inpathy is looking forward to taking the stage and showing Houston, Texas why we set out on this bold initiative to #SpreadInpathy! We are excited to display all the hard work that Contollo and our Founding team have put into making sure that we deliver passion, entertainment, and vision to Codelaunch HOU 2023. We have no doubt that we will leave this event with the tools, direction, and resources needed to accelerate Inpathy toward our next successful milestone.

Professional Hackathon Team: BJSS

Tell us about Drinkicks:

DrinKicks is a sneaker-themed consumer packaged goods company that is focused on repurposing food waste and recycled materials into sustainable goods such as shoes, sports equipment, and clothing all while educating consumers on the power of the circular economy.  Our approach will provide exposure to an important topic through the lens of sneaker culture. Our motto is Mind-Body-Laces. The users will benefit by changing how they think about consumption (Mind). Users will learn about healthy products and habits for both themselves personally and the Earth (Body). Users will be more educated and have the threads (Laces) to tie everything together. 

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

We are looking forward to working with BJSS and creating amazing technology that will help shift how people think about recycling and sustainability. We are so excited and grateful to have this opportunity and we cannot wait to experience the entire CodeLaunch process. 

Professional Hackathon Team: Softeq

Tell us about Gophr:

Gophr App Inc. is a marriage between Software as a Service and Delivery. We are a delivery technology platform that provides same-day and expedited shipping, and a simple delivery solution for any business.  From pharmacies and machine shops to construction sites, to flower shops and more, we offer seamless delivery innovation. Snap a photo, instantly receive a quote and submit. Let Gophr handle all the headaches and costs of logistics for you. 

We believe Gophr is the ultimate one-two combination of local marketplace and delivery solutions. For customers, our mobile app combines convenient local shopping with same-day delivery from their favorite local retail businesses. For commercial and industrial merchants, our platform connects them with a fleet of vehicles that spans from compact cars to big rigs for affordable on-demand deliveries. Gophr is focused on helping local businesses thrive, while also having a nationwide long-term goal.  

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

We are looking forward to pitching in front of potentially thousands of people and introducing them to our services. 

Professional Hackathon Team: Improving

Tell us about AnyShift:

AnyShift is an on-demand platform connecting flexible workers with businesses in the retail, hospitality, and warehousing industries.

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

We recently moved to Houston. So, we are very excited to be presenting our product and the demo designed by Improving to an audience of 2000+ people! 

Professional Hackathon Team: Honeycomb Software

Tell us about E 360:

E 360 is a holistic building solution. We monitor both the energy efficiency and indoor air quality of commercial buildings and help customers save energy, greenhouse gas emissions and cost all while also dramatically improving the indoor air quality. We do this by monitoring vast sums of IOT data and then using Machine Learning and real-time monitoring we adjust the building to optimize its performance.  This is a revolutionary way to look at commercial buildings. The vast majority of buildings are both incredibly inefficient as well as dangerous to their occupants; due to the dangerous levels of compounds in the air. We solve both these complex problems at the same time. This is unheard of in our industry. 

What are you looking forward to when it comes to CodeLaunch?

We are looking forward to meeting industry leaders and investors who can help take the product to the next level. 

Our Global Community Partner Project 10K gives great tips for startup founders so their ideas can become thriving, successful companies.

In recent years, there’s been a boom in the number of tech startups. The US tech market is $1.6 trillion, making it the largest in the world, prompting many entrepreneurs to start tech companies. Small technology startups have developed as a result of this, which offer clients innovative solutions or build software they can use.

Starting a tech company is a fantastic way to bring your innovative vision to life and make a real impact on the world. Our Global Community Partner, Project 10K, is committed to helping transform your idea into a successful tech company. They take a hands-on approach with their entrepreneurs. They provide the experience, resources, and network necessary to turn your concept into a thriving business. 

Earlier this month, Project 10K launched the first-ever Project 10K Elite event in Brickell, Miami, and co-founded 11 companies in two days. Babson College, the number one school for entrepreneurship in the world for the past 26 years, has given us this incredible opportunity to partner with them in this historic event. The ideas have been mind-blowing, and we are more than excited to help these new tech companies build, scale, and see them through impactful exits.

But where does everything begin?

Below, Project 10K has outlined some critical steps to take when starting a tech company.

1. Develop a Compelling Idea

A compelling and unique idea is the first step in starting a tech company. Most of the time, what seems like a crazy idea turns out to be something GREAT that can change lives forever. Project 10K helps transform napkin ideas into meaningful exits and helps entrepreneurs make the perfect pitch that gets the yes for their business. 

2. Create a Minimum Viable Product

In their Validation Challenge, Project 10K goes ALL-In with an entrepreneur to validate the overall viability of a tech idea by launching a Minimal Viable Company that can and will make money and begins to scale. Your minimum viable product (MVP) is the first version of your product or service that you’ll release to the public. Creating an MVP will help you save time and money in the long run, as it’s much cheaper and faster to iterate on an existing product than creating something from scratch.

3. Find the Right Team

As they say, it takes a village to raise a child and a strong team of talented individuals to build a successful tech company. Project 10K takes ideas written on napkins, pitch decks, or minimal viable tech products and transforms them into stable, viable, and highly lucrative tech companies. By combining a world-class software development team with a top-notch go-to-market and sales division, financing, legal support, and business consulting, you can have the industry’s dream team at your disposal.

4. Secure Funding

Starting a tech company takes money—there are no two ways. You’ll need to raise capital to finance the development of your product or service, pay for marketing and advertising, and cover any other operational costs associated with running your business. There are numerous ways to raise capital, so it’s vital that you explore all of your options and choose the one that makes the most sense for your company. This can be done through venture capitalists, angel investors, or crowdfunding platforms like WeFunder. 

5. Launch Your Product or Service

After you’ve raised capital and created a business plan, it’s time to launch your product or service. This is where all of your hard work comes together. It’s essential to have a strong launch strategy that includes marketing, PR, and sales initiatives that will help you reach your target market and achieve success. This is a very exciting time! With Project 10K, your cohort will rally energy around you, your team at Project 10K will be fully immersed with you, and your family in our ecosystem will go above and beyond to ensure we validate quickly! 

Summing It Up

Starting a tech company can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Following the steps above can give you a solid foundation to build a successful business. And remember—done is better than perfect, so don’t be afraid to start today! 

When converting your napkin ideas into impactful exits, Project 10K can help you take your business to the next level.

About Project 10K

Project 10K combines the best elements of a Venture Studio, Incubator, Accelerator and Growth Hacking Agency with a Venture Capital solution to help visionary SaaS Entrepreneurs launch their ideas quicker, with less risk, while keeping more equity. As the ultimate co-founder, Project 10K provides everything an emerging SaaS company needs to build, scale, and eventually sell including product design, management, development, UI/UX, go-to-market, branding, press, business development, sales, legal, fundraising, bookkeeping, operations, customer support, exit planning and more. Project 10K plans to BUILD, SCALE, and SELL 10,000 SaaS applications over the next 10 years by transforming a napkin idea into a scalable company on the road to an exit. Project 10K democratizes software by giving anyone committed the chance to become a SaaS founder regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, educational background, etc.

CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 presented by Cyrannus was a spectacular success! This was the first CodeLaunch to happen in Ohio and we can certainly say it made a mark on the MidWest startup hub.

CodeLaunch Ohio presented by Cyrannus Winner:

Congratulations to Columbus’ own Mastery Portfolio for winning the entire competition! Not only did they win the popular vote from the audience, but they also received the Judges’ Choice award. Mastery Portfolio worked with their hackathon sponsor Enzee throughout the week to claim the title of “Best Startup in Ohio”!

Congratulations to our finalists, who will compete in our main event on August 25th at the Davidson Theatre at the Riffe Center in Columbus.

Shoutout to all of our other finalists who will now go on to launch viable startup companies!

A major thank you to our Hackathon Sponsors who worked tirelessly with our finalists to ensure their technical products were accelerated and that they can close a seed round of funding.

Enzee + Mastery Portfolio
Improving Ohio + AlignAI
QStartLabs + servUS
Tech Elevator + Metatopia Network

Another Thank You to Our Presenting Sponsor Cyrannus!

We are THRILLED to announce that Cyrannus will be our presenting sponsor throughout the rest of 2022 and all of 2023!
Cyrannus is a network of experts trying to add rational insight into a growing venture capital market. We are developing tools to connect founders with experts and create bullet-proof strategies. Founders can confidentially submit areas of their business plan, pitch deck, technology, or product. Experts anonymously interact with founders in an iterative process to generate answers to questions and get quantitative scoring.

“You can have the best idea in the world, but the biggest challenge would be finding the right technical team to build the product or just MVP,” Founder Lee Mosbacker said. “What I love about CodeLaunch is that it kind of decouples that challenge. You’re seeing ideas and possibly connecting those ideas to capital. And if you make it to the finals, you get access to a professional team of coders who care about the outcome.” 

Lee served as one of our judges and we are truly grateful for his support! You can learn more about Cyrannus here.

All About CodeLaunch

CodeLaunch is a traveling seed accelerator and startup expo that connects early-stage startups with invaluable seed services critical to stimulating their business. Unlike many startup accelerators, CodeLaunch is completely free to apply, and there is no equity surrendered.

The professional hackathon is one way that CodeLaunch is truly unique. Each finalist is paired with a professional development team that accelerates product development and builds out as much of their MVP as possible in a 2-day time frame. During the pitch competition, the product is demoed live and for the first time in front of a live audience, who then votes for the overall winner.

CodeLaunch Ohio went above and beyond our expectations! We are thankful for everyone who came out to support the event and Columbus’s startup community.

CodeLaunch DFW 2022 is Around the Corner

CodeLaunch heads back home in November! We will be in Dallas on November 16th. Click this link to learn more and apply here if you are a founder who wants to change the trajectory of your startup!

Learn about each final startup before the final competition on August 25th!

ServUS – Columbus, OH 

Tell us about ServUS: 

Our mission at ServUS is to empower the world’s service-minded students to solve the world’s biggest problems. We are creating a website that matches people to local non-profits based on their interests. 

Why is this idea important to you? 

I hope that our platform will make it easier for nonprofits to carry out their day-to-day activities. I am personally looking forward to a world where students lead the way towards a sustainable 2050. 

Is there anything else you want readers to know? 

Our platform is currently enrolling nonprofits into our first cohort. If there is an organization out there that needs more volunteers or is interested in our mission, please reach out to the ServUS team at Servus.cbus@gmail.com. 

ParaWave – Columbus, OH 

Tell us about ParaWave: 

Our mission is to equip public safety with drone technology to gather and communicate critical information from the air. 

During emergencies, it is critical for first responders to view the live video feed from Parwave’s drones. We needed to develop a platform to stream video feed in an efficient manner that first responders could quickly and easily interact with. Once we heard about CodeLaunch, we applied and are excited to have been selected as finalists. We are thrilled to work with Centric Consulting to bring this app to fruition. 

Why is this idea important to you? 

We value protecting our community members and supporting our first responders’ safety.  

Is there anything else you want readers to know? 

We are passionate about drones, and we wanted to develop drone technology that was meaningful to the community. Both of us are upcoming senior undergraduate aerospace engineering students at Ohio State graduating in May 2023. 

Metatopia Network – Cleveland, OH

Tell us about Metatopia Network: 
Metatopia is decentralized cloud computing for Web3 applications. Cloud3 for Web3. We provide users with the tools they need to build decentralized applications, metaverses, and NFT projects. 

Why is this idea important to you?  

After college, I tried to start a career in animation and game development. As a freelancer, I was always limited to a less-than-capable device that I could afford. Now I’m providing solutions that help people like myself, excel no matter what device you are about to afford. All of the resource-intensive features are executed in the cloud. 

Is there anything else you want readers to know?  

I like to call myself the “Creative Engineer”. I am a musician, film director, and visual artist. But I am a software engineer that teaches computer science and physics. 

Mastery Portfolio – Columbus, OH 

Tell us about Mastery Portfolio: 

If I asked you to describe an “A” student, you probably could, but if I asked five different people to describe the characteristics of a B student, I would get five different responses. Why? Because traditional grading is broken- it’s a points and averages game and doesn’t motivate students to achieve. Mastery Portfolio helps schools and districts redesign how they do grading and assessment to increase equity and celebrate actual progress on skills with clear data visualizations and a thoughtful roadmap to implementation that keeps all community members in mind.  

Why is this idea important to you? 

In education, the bottom line is student achievement. We must be able to accurately measure that at the classroom level, teaching students to assess themselves, set goals, and reflect. Once we do, we can roll that information all the way up so school systems can make strategic decisions to increase student achievement across the district.  

Is there anything else you want readers to know? 

We are actively adding new schools to our portfolio. Contact us today for support with your assessment and skills-tracking needs. MasteryPortfolio.com 

AlignAI – Columbus, Ohio

Tell us about AlignAI: 

AlignAI is an ed-tech company built by AI professionals for AI professionals. Our mission is to help data & AI practitioners go from learning to doing faster. We focus on process-based, hands-on training to help organizations design, build, deploy, and manage AI more effectively. We have seen our customers increase the impact and adoption of AI solutions they are building after cross-skilling their employees through AlignAI. 

Why is this idea important to you? 

The global talent gap is real. People aren’t learning critical concepts around AI fast enough to fill the openings. As practitioners, we saw this gap consistently across industries. Companies were attempting to unlock AI capabilities in order to compete but did not have the in-house talent or pipeline of individuals who could get them there. 

The AI educational content today is falling short for the working professional focused on what we refer to as ‘operationalizing AI’ – building and maintaining AI models at scale within a company.  Universities are not keeping up with relevant practices, and general content massively available today does not drive direct application within organizations. This one is personal for us, as we’ve all sat through hours of slides, videos, and generic examples only to step back and ask “What did I just learn?” and more importantly, “How do I take this information and use it in my day-to-day?”   

Is there anything else you want readers to know? 

Curiosity is at the core of our culture. We are all working to solve hard problems every day by running experiments and seeing what works. We are hyper-focused on providing a hands-on AI learning experience, with a curriculum designed around direct application.  

We accomplish this by: 

• Partnering with vetted experts across the globe to constantly update our curriculum and match what real teams are doing today. The industry knowledge & best practices are ever-evolving, and our learning content should too.
• Developing the simulations and exercises first. With every course, we start with the end goal of direct application in our customer’s environment. We then build in only the content that is needed. 
• Constantly testing our curriculum to make sure it’s effective and interesting with our active network of partner companies. If they don’t think it’s valuable, we don’t publish it.  

CodeLaunch Ohio presented by Cyrannus is coming up quickly! This means our Hackathon sponsors are gearing up for the competition, and we want to highlight two of them in this post. 

CodeLaunch would not work without our hackathon sponsors. Each one puts together a team, volunteering to work free of charge during an intense 24-hour hackathon. They team up with one of our finalists to ensure their technical products are accelerated and that they can close a seed round of funding. We are so thankful for the time and effort that hackathon sponsors put into each competition. They truly change the trajectory of each startup that they work with! 

Enzee

Enzee (formerly ZapIt) is revolutionizing healthcare by providing a quantitative measurement of the quality of care given by equipment and personnel in hospitals. According to Founder Bryon Murray, Enzee is a company that developed a web application for managing all of the quality control records for all radiology and oncology. Now, they are working to expand into the entire hospital system!  

“We’re allowing hospitals to have a real-time look at how compliant they are with the standards for quality of care for equipment,” Bryon said. 

The Enzee team is currently building their app from the ground up as they rebrand and expand. But, that is not stopping them from helping a startup do the same thing. Bryon said they are doing CodeLaunch for the spirit of the whole startup and technology community. 

“We want to do something fun, get some exposure, and participate in the community,” he said. “That’s really important to us.” 

The team is excited to help their finalist startup grow, while also getting a chance to work on something that is different from what they do every day. Learn more about Enzee by heading over to their website.

Centric Consulting  

Centric Consulting is an international management consulting firm with high-caliber expertise in business agility and transformation, technology implementation, and technology adoption. They partner with medium and large enterprises to help them realize their business and technology goals. 

Columbus Business Unit VP Doug Hood told us he found out about CodeLaunch by reading an article about its arrival in Ohio. The team had been talking about putting on an internal hackathon for about a month, so they were immediately excited about diving head first into CodeLaunch. 

What is Centric Consulting most excited about when it comes to the competition?  

“We’re excited about getting together with people that we don’t always work with,” Senior Architect Matt Miller said. “Also, getting to ‘nerd out’, while helping a startup.” 

Centric’s core values include innovation and igniting a passion for the greater good. So, they believe their partnership with CodeLaunch is a no-brainer. 

Learn more about Centric here. 

CodeLaunch could not happen without our amazing hackathon sponsors. Each company puts together a team and works absolutely free of charge during our hackathon. They work tirelessly with our finalists to ensure their technical products are accelerated and that they can close a seed round of funding. 

Our next hackathon will take place the weekend before CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 Presented by Cyrannus. The Ohio hackathon sponsors will spend 24 hours with a partnered CodeLaunch startup finalist to provide key consulting services to make their product or service thrive. 

So, who are the Ohio hackathon sponsors? We are highlighting two of them in this post. 

QStart Labs 

QStart Labs is a firm dedicated to launching new tech ventures that provides startups with experienced technology development and a startup advisory team made up of entrepreneurs, designers, nerds, and investors. Their goal is simple: change the way entrepreneurs and investors launch new businesses on the web. 

A QStart Labs client company partners with Improving, and that is how Jeff was connected to CodeLaunch Founder Jason W. Taylor. After only one meeting, he knew CodeLaunch was something he and his team wanted to be a part of.  

“It sounded like a great idea,” Jeff said. “CodeLaunch is going to be great for the local startup community and will continue to make Columbus a hotspot for startups.”  

One of their core values is to be pragmatic. Being able to create a good balance between the textbook way of building something and the reality of how the building actually goes when you do not know how customers will react to it yet. I think the CodeLaunch model takes that pragmatic approach as well.  

Jeff said his team is thrilled to work together during the Hackathon. 

“Most of the time they’re working right next to each other, but working on separate projects,” Jeff told us. “So, a chance to really work together on the same project is really exciting. This will be high pressure and a lot of fun. We like each other a lot and tend to enjoy our time together so it will be interesting to see what happens.” 

Since they work with startups on a normal basis, the QStart Labs team knows how it feels to bring a startup’s project to life. Jeff says there’s nothing like seeing something be built from scratch. He’s excited to provide that experience to their CodeLaunch finalist team and make an entrepreneur’s dream a reality. 

Tech Elevator 

Tech Elevator is a coding and career prep boot camp based in Ohio. They offer intensive in-person and online education to help individuals and companies acquire in-demand technology skills for the modern workforce. 

Tech Elevator was created in 2015 when the founders saw the continual shortage of software developers. They took this as an opportunity for ambitious adults to move from unsatisfying jobs to well-paying, fulfilling careers in the tech industry. Today, Tech Elevator has helped thousands of graduates build new careers with over 700 hiring partners nationwide.  

Sandie Young, Marketing Director at Tech Elevator, told us their Columbus Campus Director, Vinny Sanfillipo, found out about CodeLaunch and brought the idea to her. She recognized how involved CodeLaunch is within local communities, and knew it would be a great opportunity. 

“We love getting involved and elevating the communities in which we have campuses,” Sandie said. “So, we are really excited to collaborate with a startup and do some coding!” 

Their team is excited to meet other like-minded professionals as they start their CodeLaunch journey. They recently added their fourth hackathon team member, and everyone is counting down the days until CodeLaunch arrives in Ohio. 

They have an open house happening in Columbus on July 18^th. Learn more about that event here.  

Cyrannus is digging into the deception that unfortunately takes place in the startup and tech worlds. The newly launched blog is working to help investors and venture capitalists learn about and avoid fraud and deception. 

“Cyrannus is a technical due diligence blog for investors and venture capitalists to assess high-tech feasibility in their investments and technologies,” Founder Lee Mosbacker said. 

Lee has had unique experiences that have provided him with rich knowledge of the inventor mindset. His background is in physics, but he has spent time as a software engineer, device physicist, and optical physicist. He got into artificial intelligence and even understands a baseline of quantum physics that goes into more of the advanced technologies that people are investing in. 

However, his biggest asset may be his keen skeptical eye for the ways that technologies are promoted, and the way that inventors can fool others and even themselves. Lee told us that a lot of times, investors see the hype that certain startups or venture capital have around them. Without fully understanding the technology that goes into creating the product or service, investors buy into the hype. This can result in significant consequences. 

For people who may not understand the need for this kind of blog, Lee told us he has personally been burned before. Fraud was taking place at a company he was working for, and it took him and his colleagues a couple of months to uncover it.  

“A university professor was manipulating data, lying to investors, fraudulently creating prototypes that did not work though they said that it worked,” Lee said. “Instead of justice happening, they left the company and received a prestigious award for the work that they did.” 

Lee’s parents were activists throughout his childhood, taking on big banks and Washington to make changes as poor Ohio farmers. From an early age, they instilled those values into him. That’s why he feels so passionate about the blog. 

CodeLaunch Connection

Lee recently moved back to Columbus, Ohio after living in the Bay Area for a decade. Many of his friends are tech leaders and capitalists in the community, but they also really care about the things they are building and putting into society. They introduced Lee to the Conscious Capitalism community (a major part of CodeLaunch’s identity) and met the CodeLaunch team there.  

Lee jumped at the opportunity for Cyrannus to become not only a CodeLaunch sponsor, but the presenting sponsor of CodeLaunch Ohio 2022! He sees that it’s difficult to find technical partners in Ohio compared to somewhere like the Bay Area, and believes CodeLaunch does a great job in bridging that gap. 

“You can have the best idea in the world, but the biggest challenge would be finding the right technical team to build the product or just MVP,” Lee said. “What I love about CodeLaunch is that it kind of decouples that challenge. You’re seeing ideas and possibly connecting those ideas to capital. And if you make it to the finals, you get access to a professional team of coders who care about the outcome.” 

The Future of Cyrannus

The first Cyrannus blog post has been published! It’s about whistleblower rights and protections. The next article will look into the feasibility of a local unicorn’s claims. The blog will publish a new article every week. 

Learn more about Cyrannus here. 

For details on CodeLaunch Ohio, click here. 

Our CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 community partner COhatch is a coworking, meeting, and event space provider, but they also put an immense amount of effort into giving back to their communities.  

COhatch currently has locations across Ohio and Indianapolis, with many more spaces popping up over the next year. While their growth is something to be celebrated, COhatch Head of Impact Jessica Gesue told us they’re most excited about helping people through their Impact Collective Program. 

Boost Scholarship  

The Impact Collective Program provides three different kinds of scholarships in the communities COhatch serves. The Boost Scholarship focuses on local start-ups with an emphasis on minority and women entrepreneurs. 

The people who receive the scholarships get to use the COhatch spaces absolutely free of charge as they work to build their startup and bring their ideas to life.  

“Throughout our years, we’ve seen just how important local businesses and ideas matter. We’ve always known that supporting local businesses is imperative to our community, but as we created a community of local entrepreneurs, we’ve seen the impact supporting local startups and businesses makes near and far.” – COhatch  

71 startup founders have gotten a Boost Scholarship, and COhatch has awarded $209,300 to local startups thus far. They also provide members and other community members a chance to “adopt a startup”. This means they will pair a startup with a mentor or supporter that can help their company grow and succeed. 

CodeLaunch Partnership 

COhatch will give the winner of CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 their own Boost Scholarship! This generous award will help them work on their startup while also getting numerous chances to network throughout the building. 

We asked Jessica why COhatch wanted to partner with CodeLaunch. She said it was a no-brainer for their company, especially since they are seeing a major increase in startups popping up throughout Ohio. 

“We love the idea of partnering with experts and want to help connect people,” Jessica said. “This includes connecting our Boost Scholars with CodeLaunch.” 

We’ve decided that the CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 semi-finalists and finalists’ announcements will be made from the COhatch Gateway location in Columbus! This space is only minutes from where the final competition will be held and we are thrilled to provide this great news to startups from such a fun space. 

COhatch also hosted our Ohio Tour at the beginning of May, which gave our Founder Jason W. Taylor the opportunity to meet startup founders throughout Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati while everyone enjoyed happy hour at the workspaces.  

Jessica said COhatch likes that people do not have to pay in order to compete in CodeLaunch and that we do not take any equity. This made us perfect partners for their mission to help Ohio startups thrive. 

More About COhatch 

COhatch is a coworking, meeting, and event space all in one! “Work. Meet. Live.” is the phrase they center everything around and believe the “live” component is their differentiating power. COhatch locations have game rooms, birthday party spaces, theater rooms, sports simulators, and more. 

“We want to treat everyone like a family and have shared resources,” Jessica said. 

The other two scholarships COhatch regularly gives are for non-profits and community members. So far, they have given $1M worth of scholarships to non-profits since July 2021. 

They also recently launched COhatch+ on May 17th! This digital platform helps members make connections with people in the COhatch community, even if they do not need a physical place to work. They have digital portals for neighborhood groups and nonprofit needs. Jessica said COhatch+ will have a startups and investors group in the future too. 

To learn more about COhatch, click here. You can find out more about their Boost Scholarship by using this link. 

Watch our CodeLaunch Houston 2022 wrap up video and get ready for an awesome experience in Ohio!

Phix Health was a finalist for CodeLaunch DFW 2021 in October. Now they’re breaking a CodeLaunch record after they secured a round of seed funding which included $3.5 million in intellectual property and cash only five months after the competition. This is the fastest that any CodeLaunch finalist has closed a round of this size.

In March, they partnered with Bill Koehler and Mike Colson, two individual entrepreneurs who invest and operate in multiple companies. Both Koehler and Colson have been in the healthcare space for a long time and saw incredible value in Phix Health’s mission. 

Because of this significant deal, Founder Mark Schultz told us they have been actively developing their app throughout the Spring. Phix Health will roll out its application’s beta version in October which will be ready for use, and the alpha version is set to be completed by July.

Mark said he started Phix Health because he noticed that wearables and every other device on the market gives historical data, but it ends there. That’s why Phix Health takes historical data, pairs it with AI, and gives the user an actionable plan to transform their health. 

They do this by bringing together multiple data sets into their single platform by integrating with wearables like Apple Watches and Fitbits. It also connects with glucose monitors, EKGs, scales, blood pressure cuffs, and any other health or wellness device. 

Mark said CodeLaunch allowed them to demonstrate how the app can take multiple devices and put the data into a singular platform to allow the user to have actionable recommendations to provide outcomes. Improving was their hackathon partner and made all of this happen. The developers helped build their website with a live demo to show people in the market how to use the app. 

“CodeLaunch is unique,” Mark said. “I’ve seen a bunch of accelerators, and we’ve been invited to a bunch since then. We’ve turned them all down because they want equity. It’s been refreshing to see that basically, CodeLaunch empowers you to be a better person and a better company.” 

He also told us CodeLaunch gave the Phix Health founder confidence that his idea could succeed. The competition helped him and his team elevate their sales pitch and helped them get in touch with investors.  

“It was market validation for us,” he said. “CodeLaunch gave us a platform that allowed us to simplify our message.” 

Phix Health’s target audience is anyone in the health space. They want to work with concierge physicians and other people in the wellness and fitness industry, as well as those in the life insurance and health insurance world. 

Mark will join CodeLaunch Founder Jason W. Taylor on Discord on Monday, May 23^rd. You can hear him speak about his journey in founding and creating Phix Health by joining the conversation. If you would like to receive similar results for your startup, do not miss out on applying to CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 which is set for August 25^th. You can apply for it here. 

To learn more about why you should apply for CodeLaunch, check out this blog post. 

The CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 application portal is now OPEN! This means your startup could be accelerated in as little as three months. But, that will only happen if you apply! We will stop taking applications on June 16th at 12:00pm EDT.

Why Should I Apply?

That’s a great question with so many answers! First, the competition has no entry fee of any kind. So, it’s FREE to apply and FREE to compete. Your startup will receive a FREE two-day professional developer Hackathon if you make it to the finals, which means you’ll get thousands of dollars worth of free development done to your product.

CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 will be on August 25th at the Davidson Theatre at Riffe Center in Columbus. You don’t have to be located in Ohio to be selected for this event. We are taking applications from anywhere in the United States (and we will be open to international startups during later competitions).

What’s a Hackathon?

The professional hackathon is an all-out, coffee and energy drink-filled coding marathon where professional software and application development teams are paired with CodeLaunch Finalists to build out as much of their product as they can. That product is then demoed live and for the first time in front of the CodeLaunch audience, who then vote for their Overall Winner.

This is what truly sets CodeLaunch apart from the rest of the startup events and we’re super proud of all the Hackathon sponsors who partner with us for each event.

The Competition

Speaking of the live demo, our final competition is always a thrilling event! Each CodeLaunch finalist will get to pitch to this room with the product they created or modified during the Hackathon.

This is a rare experience to explain what makes your product unique and marketable. The room is filled with VCs and Angels who want to find startups to invest in. Even if you do not win the competition, you will still have that product and get your name out to the audience.

To learn more about the CodeLaunch experience, you can click here to read all about CodeLaunch HOU 2022!

How to Apply

It’s so easy to apply that you have zero excuses not to! Go to our Application Portal and start the process. You’ll need a pitch deck which we accept through PowerPoint or PDF. Then, you’ll want to have mockups/wireframes. If we select you as a finalist, you’ll have to show us what you hope to build so we can do it through the hackathon. The categories we support are U.S. Commercial, Social Impact, and Youth.

What are you waiting for? Apply for CodeLaunch Ohio 2022 NOW!

Watch our CodeLaunch Houston 2022 wrap up video and get ready for an awesome experience in Ohio!

Startup Founder Kristeen Reynolds is striving to succeed with her startup DrinKicks, which is a health and wellness tech startup with a sneaker twist. 

Right now, they have a juice product with a QR code on the bottle. When customers scan the code, it takes them to a virtual metaverse experience. Participants will get incentivized for exercising and interacting with their environment. They’ll receive general health tips through the process and will even get taught how to make their own shoes. Kristeen says their ultimate goal is to physically make shoes using their own juice bottle product.

The innovative idea came from a conversation between Kristeen and her Co-Founder Michael Fletcher. They had an inspiring conversation about why people do not understand how important shoes are to their overall health. Michael said people should learn about health through shoes, and that’s how the idea for DrinKicks was born.

The startup applied for CodeLaunch HOU 2022. They were extremely close to making it to the finals but ultimately did not get in. However, Kristeen says it was cool to go through the process. She tells us it helped them learn more about their own product and meet a lot of people in the startup space.

“It challenged us to go out there and get customer feedback,” she says. “So, it was definitely a good experience that helped us take things to the next level or confirm that we are doing the right thing, taking the right steps.”

The DrinKicks idea started in 2020 and they filed for a trademark in 2021. By January 2022, they made the startup official. Now, their goal is to raise money and continue working on development. And when it comes to CodeLaunch, they have not given up yet!

“I’m big on the phrase ‘you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t make,” Kristeen said.

Kristeen plans to apply for CodeLaunch Ohio 2022, which is set for August in Columbus. To learn more about CodeLaunch Ohio 2022, click here.

CodeLaunch DFW 2021 winner AUTIX could not have earned the championship belt without their professional hackathon team sponsor, Leverture. Developers from this information technology and services company located in Plano, TX, worked tirelessly for two, 10-hour days, to help create Autix’s app during the competition’s Hackathon. 

Joshua Clounch, the Founder and CEO of Leverture, shared his delight after a successful experience at CodeLaunch DFW. 

“I don’t think initially we really fully understood what was going to be the end impact. We were just having fun building what we could, but them [AUTIX] having something in their hands when they did not have something in their hands before is so big.”

– Joshua Clounch

From the numerous benefits of being a professional hackathon team sponsor, Joshua highlighted the ultimate benefit for the developers, which was the ability to work a business idea without any red tape. Leverture worked directly with the startup, which is a quick, fun experience, with fewer constraints. These developers also get a platform to prove to themselves how they can effectively and collaboratively build the best application possible.

“We have seen first-hand that the developers who worked on the project are continuously motivated and direct their excitement towards their work to become even better.” said Jason W. Taylor, Founder of CodeLaunch.

Winning the hackathon has instilled a new wave of electricity and energy in the office. This win is an opportunity for the developers to enhance their personal brand as well as elevate their standing with existing and potential clients.

“Leverture has been a great development partner for us (Autix)” said Jake Hamann CEO, Autix, after the Hackathon.

Joining the CodeLaunch community sealed the relationship between Leverture and AUTIX, which continued to flourish after the competition ended. Leverture went above and beyond to provide another two weeks of pro-bono software development to AUTIX. Ensuring the best outcome possible for all. 

Given all of the above, Leverture has decided to join CodeLaunch again! They will continue to work with budding startups as a professional hackathon team sponsor for CodeLaunch DFW 2022. We can’t wait to have Mr. Clounch and his team back to help elevate the CodeLaunch experience.

CodeLaunch DFW 2021 Startup Accelerator Recap

Take a look at CodeLaunch’s Hackathon experience

Click here to learn more: CodeLaunch HTX 2022

Automotive app startup AUTIX secured the win of the 10^th CodeLaunch competition in November, and they have been thriving ever since. 

Founder and CEO Jake Hamann tells us he believes CodeLaunch gave them at least a six-month acceleration from where they started last fall. The team has completed their MVP+ of the AUTIX platform with their Hackathon partner Leverture and is now working to morph it into a polished Alpha app+platform that will accommodate paying AUTIX customers early this year.

AUTIX has been selected as a TOP 100 Finalist for Startup of the Year and will head to Tampa, FL to compete for the top spot at the end of January. The startup was hand-picked to compete out of 750 applicants! 

Hamann received a major grant from the McKinney, TX Economic Development Corporation Innovation Fund. They also hired three new team members, including a technology adviser and a full-time paid marketing specialist. 

When AUTIX became a finalist for CodeLaunch, they did not have anything from a development perspective, according to Hamann. So, he created the user interface design and hired someone to build the database in the back end. During the Hackathon, Leverture basically put both of those things together so they worked in an actual URL through the web. 

“It was just a mockup, but CodeLaunch really brought it to life and actually made it work,” said Hamann.

Though it is not accessible to the public quite yet, technically AUTIX is usable right now. This means they have an actual product to show investors, which is extremely rare for startups on the same level. With this advantage, they are now asking investors for $2.5 – $5 million. 

What will this money be used for?  

“These seed funds will be used to activate our Go-To-Market scale by onboarding our most important asset, our team, as well as strategically bolster our technology stack, operational, marketing/content, and promotional efforts. Utilizing seed funding for scale in this manner in early 2022 enables us to amplify our user and revenue milestones over the next 18-24 months.”

– AUTIX Welcome Letter 

Because of CodeLaunch, AUTIX completed a team agreement with ParkUpFront, which is the leading car show and event platform startup that won CodeLaunch in 2016. AUTIX secured meetings with many potential seed investors in these past few months, and they hope to continue this momentum throughout 2022. 

Hamann and AUTIX will be on stage taking Q&A as one of our CodeLaunch Crushed It Panelists at our next event which is CodeLaunch Houston on March 30. Startup founders can apply at CodeLaunch.com through midnight Jan 22 to compete for a chance to be accelerated like AUTIX has.

WATCH: DFW 2021 Highlights: AUTIX and Leverture win CodeLaunch

CodeLaunch 8 features some of the brightest and most innovative startup concepts in the world. MotoClerk is a tech startup focused on elevating the automotive industry through streamlined software solutions. This blog details MotoClerk’s background, goals, and their CodeLaunch experience so far.

What is MotoClerk?

Founded by Sean Anderson and Christopher Lay, the inspiration behind MotoClerk was a problem they noticed impacting the efficiency of the automotive repair industry. The available software was often dated and businesses were forced into utilizing subscription-based services. Sean saw the antiquated software his brother used in his shop and decided that a more modern solution would greatly improve day-to-day and big picture processes.

What is great about MotoClerk is they found a way to make profit without charging a pesky subscription fee. One of the ways they plan to do this is by applying a transaction fee to all cards processed through Stripe in the application. The shop owner will have the option of charging this to the customer or paying the fee themselves. The great part is the fee can be avoided by simply using a own card processor of choice.

MotoClerk provides free management software to automotive repair shops. With this software, MotoClerk’s users can manage their inventory, track their customers and jobs, and process transactions all in one application. Unlike the options that currently exist, MotoClerk provides their software to businesses for free without a subscription.

Founder Background & Goals

Sean Anderson is a software developer with experience scaling applications. Personally, he is a self-proclaimed caffeine addict, an adventurous kayaker, and a manual automobile enthusiast (as Sean says, “Is it really a muscle car without a stick shift?”).

Christopher Lay is an Air Force veteran turned coder with experience working on enterprise grade software. He’s a Texas native, a Linux advocate, and breakfast taco lover. With their backgrounds, it is clear to say they make the picture-perfect duo to launch a successful startup.

Sean’s goal has always been to work for himself rather than for someone else. It keeps him motivated. He says that starting his own company has always been his goal since attending college. That entrepreneurial spirit makes him perfect for a competition like CodeLaunch. Aside from earning his black belt in karate, starting MotoClerk and finding Christopher as a co-founder has been his biggest accomplishment so far.

Their short-term goals are receiving a great round of seed funding, getting their first 100 users, and partnering with aftermarket parts resellers. Their long-term goal is using the automotive data they collect to branch out to other parts of the automotive industry.

Getting Ready for CodeLaunch 8

With their goal-oriented attitude and their passion for startups, it was clear they were destined for CodeLaunch 8. Sean found CodeLaunch while looking for other startup competitions. He read more and more about other founders’ experiences with the event and thought MotoClerk would be a great fit. So far, they have not been disappointed!

Sean says, “[CodeLaunch 8] has been an awesome experience so far that really pushed us to bring our A game, and we’ve come really far since the start of CodeLaunch. Jason and Josh have provided invaluable feedback and advice, which has helped shape the future of MotoClerk.”

Both Sean and Christopher are excited for what CodeLaunch 8 holds! They want to see how they stack up against the competition and how much they can accomplish during the hackathon.

Their next steps would be to procure seed funding and to finally launch their product—whether they win CodeLaunch or not. They are excited and determined to get MotoClerk up and running.

Learn More About MotoClerk at CodeLaunch 8

You will learn more about MotoClerk and the other finalists at CodeLaunch 8. We know we will be seeing a lot more from Sean and Christopher. You can too if you attend this year’s event! Save your spot as an attendee and register for a ticket today!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/moto_clerk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motoclerk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotoClerk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/motoclerk