Startup Games is an Austin-based non-profit organization that hosts a series of events centered on competition between tech startups in games common to startup culture. Founded in 2012, the organization holds several annual competitions, with each company playing on behalf of a charity of their choice.[2]
 | |
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , USA |
Key people | Gillian Wilson, Founder & President[1] |
Number of employees | 5 |
| Website | startupgames |
History
editPast events
editStartup Games was founded in 2012 with the original name of Austin Startup Olympics. The inaugural games were held on January 21, 2012, at uShip's headquarters and featured Adlucent, Boundless Network, BuildASign, Mass Relevance (now part of Spredfast), SpareFoot, Spredfast, uShip and WhaleShark Media (now RetailMeNot). uShip won the inaugural Startup Games competition.[2]
The organization's only Summer Games edition took place on June 9, 2012. BuildASign was the winning team.[3]
SpareFoot won the next three Austin editions of Startup Games from 2013 to 2015, playing for Kure It Cancer Research.[4]
Startup Games held its first Startup Games: Level Up event on April 11, 2015. This event is for companies larger than 250 employees.[5] BuildASign was the winning team.
Impact and growth
editTo date, Startup Games has donated more than $175,000 to charities and is expanding to other startup communities, with San Antonio, New York and Chicago scheduled for 2015.[5][6]
Leadership
editStartup Games was founded as a collaboration between the eight original competing companies. It has since been independently incorporated as a non-profit company, with one of the founding members, Gillian Wilson, serving as president.[7]
References
edit- ^ Knox, Noelle; Murphy, Maxwell. "More Firms Use Charitable Programs as a Recruiting Tool". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ a b Lorek, Laura. "Geek athletes compete at Austin's Startup Olympics". Silicon Hills News. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Lorek, Laura. "BuildASign wins the Startup Olympics Summer Games". Silicon Hills News. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Egan, John. "Three-peat! SpareFoot Captures Gold (Again) at Startup Games". The SpareFoot Blog. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ a b Holley, David. "Mid-Size Cos to Battle in Startup-Style Games, for Charity". Xconomy. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Scott, David. "Austin startup employees compete for good cause". KXAN. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Randall, Laura. "How Millennials Are Shaping the Way Companies Give Back". Coca-Cola Journey. Retrieved 19 April 2015.