Blogging from the Bus: Day 2 of StartupBus

Blake Miller, partner and web developer at Think Big Partners, was chosen to participate in StartupBus, a 72-hour roadtrip-meets-hackathon from Vegas to Austin.  Along the way, "Buspreneurs" create and launch a startup and present it to venture capitalists at SXSW.  This is Blake's experience:`


Here we are about 40 hours into the StartupBus adventure and we are about to launch a company!  Forty hours!!!


I’ll say that one more time…40 hours!


We have conceived and developed our idea to its maximum potential and now we're on the verge of launching a company in under two days.


What company you ask?  http://GetWished.com.


GetWished is gift giving re-imagined.  Because honestly, the way we see it, traditional registries and wishlists suck!


Imagine this: An elegant platform to create a list that displays all of your wishes, desires and wants. The platform allows you to also surf the Internet adding anything you want to that list, share your wishlist with your Facebook friends, and with a few simple clicks, provide all of your friends and family with the ability to fulfill those wishes.


Wish Granted.


GetWished allows your friends and family to purchase gifts that you actually want.  Wishing for something big? No problem. With our group buying platform, chipping in has never been easier. That Justin Bieber VIP Experience you’ve been eyeing is now a few steps closer to reality...because of GetWished.


Sounds pretty cool, huh?  We think so. But the opportunity is SO MUCH BIGGER than it sounds.


I will leave you with a few rando­m thoughts from the bus…

1. A word to the wise: Internet connection in the desert sucks!
2. The dynamic of our team is pretty inspiring.  You have six total strangers who came together in literally a matter of minutes and work together like a symphony.  I’ve done Hackathons and Startup Weekends before and it’s nothing like this.  At those events, I, at the very least, knew of the people that I was joining teams with.  This (at least in my experience), results in an initial surge of excitement because your friends usually don’t hold you that accountable.  Our team has been a game the entire time.  Pretty cool if you ask me.
3. Quote of the Day.  “I feel like I’m in a horrible movie mashup of the movie Speed and Hackers, only with no Angelina or Sandra."
4. And please remember...

We launch TODAY!

Follow us on Twitter @getwished

Like us on Facebook.com/getwished


AND MOST IMPORTANT: Signup so I can get you in to start using GetWished first.
AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW: The more traction we can get, the better our grading point will be for the finals.


Also look for another email tomorrow asking for your help with the StartupBus Game.


Follow me! @BlakeMiller32

Blogging from the Bus: Day 1 of StartupBus

Blake Miller, partner and web developer at Think Big Partners, was chosen to participate in StartupBus, a 72-hour roadtrip-meets-hackathon from Vegas to Austin.  Along the way, "Buspreneurs" create and launch a startup and present it to venture capitalists at SXSW.  This is Blake's experience: 

It’s 4:15pm on the first day of StartupBus and we are somewhere in the desert between Vegas and Phoenix.  

I’m not even sure where to start.  

I landed in Vegas last night and hit the ground running right away.   The Vegas tech community hosted a launch party for us “Buspreneurs” to get to know each other right off the bat.  I must say, it feels very similar to the Kansas City tech scene that I am so accustomed to.  

We started this morning at userlib, a Vegas coworking facility with a very cool vibe.  There was no time wasted in getting going.  The first to pitch?  Me.  Although my idea wasn't chosen, it did fall in line with another Buspreneur's idea, so finding the right team was easy.  

My team is made up of myself, Fred Guest, Jesse Ditson, Crystal Chang, Diana Mounter, and Isaac Lewis.  We put our heads together and decided to create a universal registry system called GetWished.  Now that we have our idea in place, we're ready to roll.  Currently, I'm hacking away with my fellow Buspreneurs somewhere in the middle of the desert (never thought I'd say that!).  

To keep track of our progress, follow GetWished on Twitter (twitter.com/getwished) and like us on Facebook (facebook.com/getwished).  More importantly go to http://getwished.com and signup to be the first ones to GetWished! 

Stay tuned...I'll keep you posted throughout the week with more blogging from the bus!

Follow Blake! @blakemiller32

Follow StartupBus! @TheStartupBus