suzanne.tindalLanguage learning game Mandarin Madness took out the top honours and the prize worth $8000 at the inaugural Startup Weekend in Melbourne.
The seven-man team led by Sydney-based web developer Matthew Ho toiled over the weekend to develop a working prototype of a game where players are challenged to match Chinese characters with the visual image that correctly represents its meaning.
When the player makes the right match, the character is sounded out and an English translation is displayed.
The judges decided that the team best met the challenge to build a prototype from scratch in a period of about 48 hours. The judges were also impressed by the identification of specific revenue streams, expansion plans, social gaming elements and the ability to go viral.
The idea was borne out of Ho's frustration at his slow progress in learning Mandarin, and he saw an opportunity to solve this by developing an addictive, innovative social game in the spirit of FarmVille and Angry Birds.
Ho, a self-confessed fan of the lean start-up model, attributed the success of team Native Tongue to an open-door policy that encouraged members and non-members to contribute and participate.
"We were pretty much like the United Nations of teams," he said. "People said we had a real Google vibe going on because people could just drop in."
He also drew on the advice of mentors to keep the game simple.
Another attendee, tech developer Deniz Mustafa, said Native Tongue's success typified what Startup Weekend was all about.
"Being an entrepreneur is all about building something from the ground up, and that was exactly what Mandarin Madness did," he said.
"The idea changed along the way to respond to challenges, which is how a real start-up should work."
The winner-takes-all format means Native Tongue took out $8000 worth of prizes, which includes web development, business consulting and office hosting provided by event sponsors including Microsoft, Sensis, BusinessPlanningHQ.com and The Cluster.
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Ho said he was exhausted after the weekend and will use the prizes to develop the prototype.
"Running on about three hours sleep — had to get up at 4.30am to get the first flight to Sydney for work!" Ho said this morning.
"I'm still buzzing ... I have so many ideas right now, but I think the key for me is to focus on getting the first game out and go from there."
Mandarin Madness beat eight other teams formed from over 50 attending wannabe entrepreneurs drawn from a range of disciplines. Competitors produced a range of ideas and products including a simple website for small businesses to create an online presence, a system to connect niche businesses with media buyers, an app for fans to get information about music gigs and an app to help GPs contact medical specialists in urgent situations.
The Melbourne Startup Weekend was organised in the space of a month by Tyson Lundbech, Olga Titarenko, Andrew Scott and a number of other hard-working volunteers.
The organisers hope to repeat their huge effort and bring StartupWeekend to Sydney in June.
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