Startup Weekend Tauranga returned for 2025 - and it was a hit!

Startup Weekend Tauranga 2025 has officially wrapped, marking the highly anticipated return of the event after more than four years.

What happens when 35 bold thinkers, 13 incredible mentors, and one wildly creative space collide for a 54-hour sprint? You get Startup Weekend Tauranga 2025 and let’s just say, it was electric!

This year’s event was a total sell-out, and for good reason. Co-hosted by Stand Tall Community Trust and The Incubator Creative Hub, the weekend was a rollercoaster of pitches, pivots, prototypes, and a lot of post-it notes...

Things kicked off with Friday night pitch fever. Picture this: nervous excitement, bold ideas flying, and 13 hopefuls stepping up to the mic to share their vision. From these, five teams were formed - each one diving headfirst into building something real.

Spoiler alert: they absolutely delivered.

By Saturday morning, the caffeine was flowing and so were the ideas. Teams scattered across the Incubator. Cold calling strangers, running surveys in the rain, and interrogating their assumptions like startup detectives. The mission? Validate the heck out of their business ideas. No fluff, no filler. Just real, gritty market research and rapid refinement. And yes, there were “aha!” moments. And maybe a few “uh oh” ones too.

After two intense days, Sunday brought the ultimate challenge: pitching to a panel of heavy-hitters.

Meet the judges:

• Tania Lewis Rickard – Founder of Kai Aroha and heart-led community champion

• Mitch Lowe – Music industry legend and entrepreneur

• Rosanne Ellis – Innovation director at Waikato Uni’s Hiko Hub

• Rodd Taylor – Tauranga City Councillor with a sharp eye for local impact

Every team brought their A-game. Big ideas, bold visions, and real progress! These weren’t just hypotheticals, they were viable startups in the making.

And the Winners Are…

🥇 GoQuestA family adventure game that turns the great outdoors into your next epic quest. It’s tech meets tramp, and it rocks.

🥈 Runners-Up:

• Home Hub – Smart planning software that makes life easier for electricians (and the rest of us)

• Femergy – Energy gels designed by and for elite female athletes, tailored to the female body.

• UnReal Estate – A DIY platform for homeowners to buy and sell property. No middleman required.

• Redu – A hands-on learning platform for students who hate the classroom but love hands on learning.

From raw pitches to polished presentations, Startup Weekend Tauranga was a high-energy celebration of innovation, collaboration, and community. Every participant left with something - whether it was a new business, a new skillset, or a whole new way of thinking.

Startups were born. Confidence was built. And Tauranga’s future just got a whole lot brighter.

Think you’ve got what it takes to turn an idea into reality in 54 hours?

We’ll see you at Startup Weekend 2026.