Why I Came Back: Hear from a Second-Time Start Up Vikes Participant

Mike Peabody, a senior mechanical engineering major at Cleveland State, came in already familiar with how Start Up Vikes worked. The 27-year-old Cleveland Heights native was a repeat contestant who previously attended Start Up Vikes in 2016.  He said he decided to come back to further hone his engineering skills.

“Last year I was still fairly new in my engineering curriculum so I didn’t have all the skills and knowledge needed to really bring an idea to fruition,” he said.

Peabody said he came in specifically wanting to work on an engineering project and get help with prototype development. He decided to join a team that had an idea for a self- regulating grill.

He recommends Start Up Vikes for anyone interested in entrepreneurship or starting their own business.

“A lot of people have these big ideas about starting their own business but they don’t know what all is involved with getting it up and running.  Start Up Vikes helps you with that.”

I Started a Team: Hear from someone who started his own team

Greg Castrodale, a freshman business major at Cleveland State, first heard about Start Up Vikes after he saw a flyer for it in the business building. He said he was interested in attending but wasn’t sure what his business idea would be. He started brainstorming ideas with his girlfriend Sierra Delfino, a freshman psychology major from Cuyahoga Community College. They were going back and forth on two company ideas: a wireless phone charger and a self-regulating grill.

Castrodale told his friend Michael Taylor, a sophomore exercise science major from Cuyahoga Community College, and invited him to brainstorm ideas. Taylor met with Castrodale and Delfino and suggested a self-regulating grill without knowing that was an existing idea being considered.

“At that point we knew we had to move forward with that idea,” Castrodale said.

He convinced Taylor to join him and Delfino for the weekend still not knowing what exactly to expect.

“I thought it would be like Shark Tank and that it would be this really intense competition,” Castrodale said, “It really was nothing like that though. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.”

Delfino attributes her team’s success to the support and help they received from the mentors throughout the weekend.

“Everyone who was involved was such a great resource. We were still bouncing ideas off the mentors even the day of our presentation. I learned so much by coming,” she said.

I joined a team: Hear from someone who joined a team

Michael Taylor, an exercise science major from Cuyahoga Community College, first heard about Start Up Vikes from his friend Greg Castrodale, a business major at Cleveland State. Taylor said he was invited over to help brainstorm ideas with Castrodale and Sierra Delfino, a freshman psychology major at Cuyahoga Community College. Taylor decided to attend the weekend after he suggested an idea that was similar to one already being explored.

“As an exercise science major I didn’t really know much about business coming in,” he said, “This weekend was a great way for me to get an overview on business and what all is involved with getting a business started.”

Taylor said it was good that he could join a team because he wasn’t comfortable starting his own. He mentioned that he is even considering transferring into the business program at Cleveland State because of the weekend.

“I really like business and it’s definitely something I want to keep exploring.”

From Friends to Business Partners: The Making of a Team

Greg Castrodale, a freshman business major at Cleveland State, first heard about Start Up Vikes when he saw a flyer for it posted in the business building. He said it seemed interesting but he wasn’t sure what all was involved so he didn’t sign up right away. The following week he received an email notification about the event and decided to sign up after doing some additional research.

He said he thought his girlfriend Sierra Delfino, a freshman psychology major at Cuyahoga Community College, might be interested in attending the event with him.

“We started brainstorming ideas but we didn’t really have anything finalized,” he said.

Delfino said they had several notebooks filled with ideas and spent hours going back and forth before they picked their top two ideas: a self-regulating grill and a wireless charging device.

“I really wanted to do the grill but we did two sets of coin tosses and the grill lost both times,” she said.

It was at that point that Castrodale invited his friend Michael Taylor, a freshman exercise science major at Cuyahoga Community College, to further brainstorm ideas.

Taylor’s idea was also a self-regulating grill.

“At that point we decided to just move forward with the grill,” Delfino said.

Castrodale further explained the weekend’s events and convinced Taylor to sign up and join his and Delfino’s team. The three of them agreed that they needed to partner with an engineering student to help flesh out prototype concepts.

After pitching their idea on Friday night, the three of them met with Mike Peabody, a senior mechanical engineering student, and convinced him to join their team.

Peabody had previously attended Start Up Vikes in 2016 and said he came back specifically wanting to work on an engineering project and get help with prototype development. Throughout the weekend the four team members attended workshops that helped them fully bring their idea to life including one on customer validation, preparing pitches, and calculating financials.

By Sunday evening the team had prepared a business pitch and was ready to compete against 10 other teams for funding. Although her team didn’t win, Delfino is glad that she attended the weekend and found the resources that were given to be very helpful.

“The whole environment was very supportive and the staff and all the mentors were wonderful,” she said.

Taylor said that he is considering transferring into the business program at Cleveland State as a result of his experience at Start Up Vikes.

“I really like business and it’s definitely something I want to keep exploring.”