Water rights, farm-fresh food and housing development are a few of our favorite teams

Finalists from Challenge Weekend events in Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins and Grand Junction advance to the statewide event, with three $25,000 awards at stake.

DENVER, April 10, 2017 -- Go Code Colorado, an award-winning program that turns public data into business insights, today announced the 10 finalist teams that advanced from Challenge Weekend, held in five cities across the state over the weekend.

Two teams from each of the five Challenge Weekend sites in Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins and Grand Junction will next participate in Go Code Colorado’s expenses-paid Mentorship Weekend, April 21-23rd in Boulder, on their way to compete in the May 24th Final Competition event.

Go Code Colorado, a program run by the Secretary of State’s office, challenges entrepreneurs, software developers and innovators to build apps that deliver public data into the hands of business decision-makers.

Mentor Weekend provides an opportunity for all 10 teams to receive mentorship by leaders from Techstars, Boomtown, House of Genius and other bright minds from Colorado’s tech and entrepreneurial community.

"Each year, Go Code Colorado participation and enthusiasm increases across the state," said Wayne Williams, Colorado secretary of state. "The high-caliber app and business concepts created during challenge weekend will further encourage government entities of all sizes to make their data available to developers and entrepreneurs so its inherent value can be fully utilized."

Over 230 individuals participated in Challenge Weekend, building apps and business concepts with their teammates, coding and analyzing data. The two advancing teams from each region showed their innovative prowess with ideas that demonstrated feasibility and attractiveness to the marketplace, utilized data to create value for business decision-makers, and set new standards in innovation for Colorado businesses. Teams have their eyes on three $25,000 awards to see where they can take their ideas, but they all know they’ll walk away with lasting relationships, valuable experience, and most of all, inspiration.

John Franck of Colorado Springs previously participated in Go Code Colorado Challenge Weekend but decided to volunteer his time as a mentor this year.

"It is always amazing to watch how much these teams can accomplish in just one weekend. The thing that stood out to me the most this year was how the apps focused on delivering useful data to decisions that businesses have historically made by taking a shot in the dark," said Franck.

Meet the advancing teams and their ideas:

Colorado Springs

• CacheMoney - An application to help restaurant owners and entrepreneurs find a prospective location or new location
• GoWater - An app to assist in water rights issues

Denver

• <div>ersity - A hiring tool to help companies build diverse teams
• Magpie Supply - A solution to solve transportation problems for farmers in Colorado

Durango

• Internstorm - A platform to help companies find interns
• AdCub - An app to facilitate ad sales

Fort Collins

• HUDL - An application to assist developers with planning HUD-backed multi-family projects
• Layers - A platform for mineral owners and investors to manage and exchange mineral property

Grand Junction

• KodeMonkey - A platform that connects capacity with needs in the Oil and Gas industry
• CoFax - A resource app for freelancers and small businesses wanting to relocate within Colorado

These 10 finalist teams will meet again on April 21-23rd in Boulder with Go Code Colorado partners: Google, CA Technologies, Techstars, House of Genius and Boomtown to further develop their apps and businesses in preparation for the Final Event, which will take place at the Denver Performing Arts Center. During the final event, three winning teams will be selected by a panel of judges to receive a contract with the state that includes $25,000 per team.

For more information regarding the Go Code Colorado Final Event please visit: http://gocode.colorado.gov/events/final-event/

About Go Code Colorado: Go Code Colorado is a statewide business app challenge housed in Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams’ office. The award-winning challenge – the first and only statewide effort of its kind – brings together a community of entrepreneurs, business partners and software developers to use public data to solve business problems.  Many private sector organizations support Go Code Colorado, including the 2017 challenge summit partner, AT&T.