A teacher-student duo from Dunn School in Los Olivos won first prize at Santa Barbara’s Startup Weekend, at which entrepreneurs compete to launch a startup in 54 hours.
Dunn’s innovation teacher, Alex Kehaya, led the team, which also included sophomore Abe Storey, who was the only high-school student in the competition. The team’s winning business, Next Mover, matches people who need help moving with movers who can do the work.
Kehaya and Storey attended the competition as an extension of the Earwig Inc. class Kehaya teaches at Dunn. In that class, students learn about a business startup model designed by Silicon Valley businessman Steve Blank called the Lean Launchpad. It’s a model designed to quickly test the market and find out which products and services are viable.
As the youngest competitor at the event, Storey said he learned a lot.
“I could list a hundred things I learned, but one of the biggest things that I’ll use my whole life is the realization that when you’re pressed on time, you’re force to work better,” Storey said in the press release.
As winner of the competition, Next Mover earned a $55,000 investment from audience members.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 4, 2013.