Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.
Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, ‘out of the box’ thinking (oh no, the buzzwords are attacking!), unique facilitation technique and letting the founders show what they can do. The program has already met with success in Boulder, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, Boston, DC and more.
The participants that attend a Startup Weekend decide what they want to tackle over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is.
A typical weekend might go something like below, although most weekends find their own schedule that works best:
6pm Friday: Everyone gets together; figures out who else is there; what would be interesting to build. 7pm: Pitches start (if you have an idea for a product you pitch it to the group). 8pm: Teams start breaking off (generally about nine teams will form during the weekend, creating nine products or companies). 9pm: Hopefully teams have solidified their concept and created an elevator pitch (even a simple one) by now. 10pm: Break off to a bar or coffee shop to continue the discussion and attempt to paper prototype out their application.
9am Saturday: Crowds pour in; work starts on development. Noon: Lunch.
3pm: More coding, business plan development, and a special guest (music, vc, sponsor etc). 6pm: Special guest drop-ins and pitches from the teams. 9pm: Gut check on the product; basic prototype building; group get-together for drinks and to talk about the products everyone is working on.
9am Sunday: The day’s work starts again. Noon: Projects are being developed; live website with signup is possibly set up; more special guests drop in. 6pm: Sink or swim time for those looking for a weekend launch. 9pm: Presentations from each company; what worked, what didn’t, what could go better and contacts are exchange for those continuing in the future.
What do Attendees get?
Startup Weekend provides an unprecedented level of networking, team building, learning, and life changes for its attendees and their communities. Don’t forget that there will be 6-7 meals and drinks provided. There is a reason that most attendees come back for every event – it’s just plain fun and provides amazing opportunities you can’t get anywhere else. Sometimes a company emerges, sometimes one doesn’t, but every time people leave with more experience, insight, knowledge, friends, and resources than they came with.
Sponsorship
Startup Weekend is actively seeking national sponsors. For more information and to discuss possible opportunities please check here first or contact Marc and Clint.
Company
Andrew Hyde — Founder — works at TechStars
Clint Nelsen – Partner – clint [at] startupweekend dot com
Marc Nager – Partner – marc [at] startupweekend dot com
Cameron Preston – Awesome Web Developer – cameron [at] startupweekend dot org
Mick Thompson – Also Awesome Developer – dthompson [at] gmail dot com
Timothy Ting – Yet Another Amazing Developer – tmting [at] gmail dot com
Speaker Details:
Matt Carbonara
Speaking: Sunday evening
Topic: Funding
Matt has over 18 years of experience working with technology companies, in venture capital, product marketing and design engineering roles. Matt is both a General Partner at Reservoir Venture Partners and a Managing Director at TeleSoft Partners, a Silicon Valley based Venture Capital firm.
As a venture capitalist Matt has invested in Jungo Software (NDS), Matrix Semiconductor (SanDisk), Ikanos Communications(IPO: IKAN) and SigmaTel (IPO: SGTL). Matt was recently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at TechColumbus. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Matt was at Terayon Communication Systems (IPO: TERN), where he initially architected and designed ASICs for Terayon’s cable modem systems before moving into product marketing and product management. He also had design roles at LSI Logic and Amdahl Corporation. Matt received his B.S., Summa Cum Laude, and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University.
Dave Gillespie
Speaking: Sunday evening
Topic: Startup Legal
Dave is the principal at The Gillespie Law Group, Ltd., but began his legal career at Baker Hostetler where he represented clients ranging from local start-ups to Fortune 20 companies.
He has served as transaction counsel in a variety of mergers, acquisitions and private equity deals, has represented start-up clients through formation, capital raising and operation, and has served as outside general counsel offering practical advice on the multitude of legal issues business owners face daily. Dave's practice also includes strategic tax planning and structuring advice with respect to corporate transactions, complex partnerships and joint ventures, and advising clients facing the complex legal issues implicated by today's most forward-looking web technologies. Dave is a "double-Buckeye" receiving both his undergraduate and law degrees from The Ohio State University. Aside from practicing law, Dave also worked for several years in the real estate and finance industries and has served as a business adviser to area startup companies.
Date: | Jan 14 2011 6:00pm - Jan 16 2011 9:00pm |
Location Name: | Gerlach Hall |
Location URL: | |
Address: | 2108 Neil Avenue |
City: | Columbus |
State: | Ohio |
Zip: | 43210 |
Phone: | |
Event Sponsor: | |
Registration Fee: | $75.00 |
Deadline Date: | 01/14/2011 |
Links: | |
Contact Info: |
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