Trio soaking in Microsoft advice

Jason Wei (left), Chris Duan (centre) and Hayden Do at Microsoft Ventures in London.

Innovation award winners on visit to London working with tech giant to fine-tune app.

Team Estimeet, the winners of Microsoft's Imagine Cup innovation award last year, have headed off on an all-expenses-paid month in London being mentored by Microsoft.

Auckland University students Hayden Do, Chris Duan and Jason Wei competed in the annual Imagine Cup in Seattle last July, where 34 teams from around the world showcased apps and products they had developed for, and using, Microsoft software.

Estimeet's app used real-time location tracking to help organise meetings or events by showing how far away people were from the location, as well as their estimated time of arrival based on the mode of transport which was detected from the type of movement on the user's phone.

The team won the innovation category which included the London trip courtesy of Microsoft to help further develop their app, and US$50,000 ($65,000).

Do said they were looking forward to working alongside the Microsoft team and fine-tuning the app before its release.

"Microsoft talks to you about what training or help you might need and then they accommodate you based on that, so it can range from basic accounting if you need help with that through to the technical side, just whatever you need help with. There's also a lot of pitching to people," Do said.

The team is focusing on fine-tuning the app before releasing it to the public, including making several alterations suggested by the Microsoft judging panel in Seattle. Coming from New Zealand they felt, had given them an advantage.

"New Zealand has a real DIY culture and it's the really cool thing about startups in general as well, because there's only a few of you, you end up doing everything because you have to," Wei said.

Having travelled to Seattle and London with Microsoft and experiencing some of the main attractions in the cities, all three say taking part in the Imagine Cup is definitely something they would encourage people to do.

"Looking back, we joined because we thought it would be fun, and to see what it would be like," Wei said. "We were jumping up and down having just got through the prelims, we definitely didn't think we'd be here."

"It's opened so many doors for us and we've met so many amazing people as well," Do added. "This is definitely not something I thought I'd be doing and going over representing New Zealand for, but I think what I would say to people is to go for it. Even if you don't think you've got a good chance, or a team or an idea or anything just give it a go.

"You never know what can happen along the way, and there's so much support from mentors, they really help you through it."

The overall winner from last year was Australian team Eyenaemia, who developed a product capable of diagnosing anaemia in patients from a photo of the person's eye. The team were awarded a private mentoring session with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and US$50,000.

According to Estimeet, their only problem was that they would often get sidetracked by other business and app ideas. They have applied for accelerator programme Lightning Lab and will find out next month if they have been chosen for the programme.

National competitions around the world for this year's Imagine Cup are under way, with finalists off to Seattle later in the year for the world finals.

Team Estimeet

• Developed an app to help organise meetings or events by showing how far away people were from the location.

• It uses real-time location tracking and estimates the time of arrival based on the mode of transport detected from the type of movement on the users phone.

• Winner of Microsoft's Imagine Cup innovation award last year.

• Won US$50,000 and an all-expenses-paid month in London being mentored by Microsoft.