Where did the idea for Startup Weekend come from?
Startup Weekend was first held in Boulder, CO in 2007 by Andrew Hyde. It wasas a gathering of individuals to brainstorm a business idea, then work the weekend to bring the idea to life. Since 2007, the event format has changed, but the essence of the event is still to build a startup. Today Startup Weekend is held globally and is lead by Marc Nager, Clint Nelson and Franck Nouyrigat.
How do you get your idea submitted to be considered for the weekend?
Ideas can come from anyone. A formal submission process where a judge approves one idea over another does not exist. On Friday evening, everyone has the opportunity to pitch their idea to the other attendees for one minute. After everyone has their chance to pitch, the group has a moment to discuss then organically approves the ideas they find the most promising and interesting to them.
Who should attend Startup Weekend?
Developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts are among those who attend Startup Weekend. There are multiple other reasons for attending the event. Its a great place to learn from other profressionals on creating a business and to play different roles in a business such as marketing, development, or buiness. I personally have made many professional contacts that in the future I could call on when I have that next business idea. Most of all, I recommend attending Startup Weekend for the experience. The satisfaction of creating a project and seeing the size of the progress made is very satisfying.
Have any local companies been started via Startup Weekend?
A few companies have directly started via Startup Weekend. Many more people have found jobs by working along side one another. There are three companies I would like to mention: CallMeMeeting, ShoutNow and Zaarly. CallMeMeeting started at this past Startup Weekend in April. They continued working throught the summer and eventually became one of the finalist in TwilioCon contest. The latter two companies did not start in Kansas City, but the seed of their ideas, their team leaders are Kansas Citians.
Do you need to do anything to prepare for Startup Weekend?
Difficult to prepare, but I do have some advice. Come with an open mind. Be willing to change your idea based on your peer-feedback. I've been on teams that pivoted several times during open discussion. Startup Weekend is a chance for you to test your own skills. How fast, quick or efficiently can you build a product to test your business ideas?
There is a new methodology going through the startup community called Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Its a great primer learning how to fail fast. Check out his blog and book.
Is Startup Weekend only for high tech businesses?
Some would say Startup Weekend is only for high tech businesses. The low cost of materials and startup costs makes technology businesses easier get a working prototype in a weekend. However I am starting to see a chance for non-technology, physical business getting a start at Startup Weekend too.
At Startup Weekend Omaha, one of the teams formed around a physical product, BedChair - A collapsable chair for your bed; thebedchair.squarespace.com. They didn't spin up a website and drafted a business plan right away like a traditional team. Instead, they spent the Saturday morning conducting customer surveys. In the four hours they spent, they were able to discover if there was a market for their product, who would actually buy said product and sharpen their pitch. They came away from the weekend knowing more about their idea instead of asking what-if.
Non-technology businesses at Startup Weekend--its possible.