1. 2/9/2014 FresnoStateNews.com | Students launch mobile app venture at Startup Weekend
http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2014/02/students-launch-mobile-app-venture-at-startup-weekend/ 1/3
A business idea by Fresno State student Renan de Lima became a reality when his MenuFire mobile
application was one of 10 finalists selected for development at California State University, Monterey
Bay’s Startup Weekend.
A junior business finance major from Tulare, de Lima pitched his business idea for MenuFire in
Monterey Jan. 23­25 at the global event that brings together developers, designers and startup
enthusiasts to form ideas, build products and launch full­scale startups.
He competed against 30 other students to land in the top 10 with his mobile application to streamline
the restaurant ordering process and serve as a software solution for local restaurants that don’t have
the infrastructure to develop online ordering systems.
On the first evening of Startup Weekend, participants have 60 seconds to pitch their ideas and
convince others to vote for their startup. The top ideas are selected and groups are formed to build a
prototype that can be presented on the final evening of the three­day event.
“I wasn’t sure how feasible my idea was or whether it would generate a lot of interest, but I figured
Startup Weekend was a low­risk setting where I would be able to gauge for possible interest,” de Lima
said. “It was definitely a very pleasant surprise when my idea was selected.”
He and junior Matt Peranick, an entrepreneurship major from Fresno, worked with a team of six
students from other colleges at the event to develop the application, which uses geolocation technology
allowing customers to locate nearby restaurants, order their food and pay for it all through the
MenuFire platform.
Peranick and de Lima are both members of the Fresno State Smittcamp Family Honors College, and
the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship CEO Fresno Club.
Their team developed and presented the working prototype for MenuFire in just 54 hours during the
competition. It’s an undertaking that some students do not complete in an entire semester, said Dr.
Eric Liguori, assistant director of the Lyles Center, who accompanied the students to Monterey.
“I have always been extremely passionate about entrepreneurship and the startup culture, but there is
really only so much you can learn from a textbook,” Peranick said. “Startup Weekend gave me the
Students launch mobile app venture at Startup Weekend
Feb 6, 2014 ⋅ by Tom Uribes ⋅ in featured ⋅ 0 Comments ⋅ Tags: students
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2. 2/9/2014 FresnoStateNews.com | Students launch mobile app venture at Startup Weekend
http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2014/02/students-launch-mobile-app-venture-at-startup-weekend/ 2/3
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opportunity to apply all of the principles I learned in the classroom on an actual venture.”
The duo plans to continue to finalize the application and in April will apply for seed stage funding
through the mini grant process of New California Ventures, LLC, Liguori said. A wholly­owned
subsidiary of the Fresno State Foundation, New California Ventures provides consulting services and
some financial assistance to help launch private commercialization efforts.
“MenuFire is still in its infancy,” Liguori said. “Renan and Matt are working on
validating the proof of concept and there is every reason to believe the application could
evolve into an investment­worthy venture in the coming months.”
For more information, contact Liguori at eliguori@csufresno.edu or 559.294.2045 or Renan de Lima
at renan@mail.fresnostate.edu.
Related links:
Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Startup Weekend
New California Ventures, LLC
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