Out of more than one thousand applicants from six cities -- Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, Silicon Valley, New York City and Miami -- 150 were chosen to take the three-day ride on six buses, one departing from each city, to SXSW. Their mission: to form teams and build and launch a startup before reaching Austin.
The six different busses carried 38 teams that successfully completed the challenge. Now just 15 semi-finalist teams remain. Some will be chosen to compete as finalists in front of panel of judges during the grand finale on Monday.
"StartupBus is a resource to help future entrepreneurs," explains Bizannes, who also believes the six-city effort will help raise the profile of less recognized technology hubs in the United States.
The short time frame, self-organized teams and space constraints give rise to stronger teams and more effective products, he says.
Bizannes believes that at least four of the applicants will grow into legitimate startups. Several teams have already been in talks with investors, and one has even been offered $10,000 in seed funding, he says.
StartupBus will eventually grow into StartupHouse, a communal living situation that hatches new born startups. "It will be like Y Combinator and American Idol in a blender," says Bizannes.
For now, keep your eye on the finalists. Some, if not all, of these less-than-one-week-old startups have a shot at turning the machinations of a road trip adventure into successful business endeavors.