Thirty-five ideas were pitched Friday evening during the inaugural Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids. 

The inaugural Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids kicked off Friday evening with more than 100 people gathering at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance to hear the event’s 68 attendees pitch 35 ideas.  

While nine teams originally were formed on Friday, David Tominsky—one of Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids’ organizers—says only eight continued through Saturday.

Learn more about the eight teams competing at Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids: 

• The Polished Man—The practical toolbox for the modern man.  
• Habit Ninja—Develop habits like a ninja. Meet your goals by developing your habits.
• Zombie House—Empowering neighborhoods to report abandoned homes and propose solutions.
• Major Trading Cards–Trading cards app with the same old nostalgia and fun.  
• Pantry Pirate—A mobile app that makes recipe recommendations that you can already make with the ingredients currently in your kitchen.
• Gift Maven—Get the perfect gift for anyone on your list.
• VoLUP—A social platform that matches volunteers with nonprofit organizations that complement their unique skill sets and recognizes participants’ commitment to community service.
• Born Ready—A mobile app that provides an interactive, comprehensive childproofing guide in a checkmarkable format, vetted by previous users.

Final presentations begin Sunday at 5 p.m. and are open to the public. Tickets to attend Sunday’s Demo Day cost $25 and can be purchased online.

Tominsky said prizes for the winning three teams will be announced Sunday at the final presentations. However, he did add that the first place team will receive free rent in the Vault Co-working space for three months. 

Judges are the event include Jeff Pomeranz, city manager of the City of Cedar Rapids; Patrice Carroll, president and CEO of ImOn Communications; John Osako, co-founder and vice president of development at Infomatics, Inc.; Amanda Styron West, CEO of Seed Here Studio; and John Schnipkoweit, co-founder and CEO of NextStep.io. 

Follow along with the first Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids on Twitter using #SWCR14.

Credits: Event photos from Amanda Styron West on Twitter.