- Startup Weekend
-
Startup Weekend is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, USA, that organizes 54-hour weekend events during which groups of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to develop a working prototype, demo, and/or presentation by Sunday evening. In the past 3 years Startup Weekend has grown into an organization with a global presence, having organized (as of December 2010) 207 events spanning 120 cities and 35 countries.[1] Startup Weekend's stated mission is to be the most valuable and influential organization in fostering startup communities around the world.[1] In September, 2010, Startup Weekend received a grant from The Kauffman Foundation, the largest foundation for entrepreneurship in the world.[2]
Contents
History
Founded in 2007 in Boulder, Colorado by Andrew Hyde, Startup Weekend LLC was initially created as an event where a group of individuals would brainstorm a single business idea and work to bring that business to fruition over the course of the weekend. Due in large part to complications around ownership and equity sharing, this idea quickly began to evolve into its current form (see 'The Event Model' below.) In June 2009, Marc Nager and Clint Nelson took over full ownership and registered the organization as a 501c6 not-for-profit, relocating to Seattle. As of the acquisition, Startup Weekend had organized approximately 34 events in the USA and Canada.. In February 2010, Franck Nouyrigat joined as a Co-Director and CTO. In the fall of 2010, Startup Weekend gained 501c3 status and received a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. By December 2010, the organization was composed of 8 full-time employees, over 15 'Key Facilitators', and more than 100 local organizers. To date, Startup Weekend has organized over 200 events in 30 countries, including Lebanon, Israel, Oman, Spain, Portugal, Russia, UK, Italy, Chile, Brazil, US, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and more (for a full list, see 'Cities' below).[1]
The Event Model
Startup Weekend events span the course of a weekend (approximately 54 hours), and are generally composed of 50-100 participants (although events in the past have ranged from 13-300+). In addition to attendees (otherwise known as 'Weekend Warriors'), the event attracts speakers, mentors, panelists (generally well-respected members of the local startup community or notable names in the tech industry), and various sponsors and company representatives. A short documentary film explains it best,[3] but a typical event schedule is as follows:
Friday:
6:30pm – Registration starts 7:00pm – Dinner & Networking 7:20pm – Welcome & Speakers 7:30pm – Pitches Begin - 60 Seconds per person 9:00pm – Attendees vote for the top ideas 9:15pm – Teams start forming and discussing ideas 10:00pm – 1:00am - Teams begin to work
Saturday:
9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 9:30am – Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend 12:00pm – Lunch 1:00pm – Call for needs & skills 2:00pm – Mentors help teams one-on-one. They are here to help! 6:30pm – Dinner 7:30pm – Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help 10:00pm – Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow.
Sunday:
9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 10:00am – 12:00pm – Lunch 12:30pm – Mentors arrive… ASK QUESTIONS 3:00pm – Gut check. Start prepping for presentations 4:00pm – Dinner 5:00pm – FINAL PRESENTATIONS 7:30pm – Judging & awards 8:30pm – Wrapup 9:00pm – Go home!
Cities
North America Europe Other Atlanta, GA Aarhus, Denmark Bangalore, India Austin, TX Amsterdam, Netherlands Beijing, China Baltimore, MD Athens, Greece New Delhi, India Bay Area, CA Barcelona, Spain Malaysia Boston, MA Berlin, Germany Oman Boulder, CO Bucharest, Romania Seoul, S. Korea Charlotte, NC Cambridge, UK Singapore Chicago, IL Copenhagen, Denmark Tokyo, Japan Cleveland, OH Dublin, Ireland Beirut, Lebanon Columbus, OH Eindhoven, Netherlands Tel Aviv, Israel Corvallis, OR Galicia, Spain Auckland, New Zealand Dallas, TX Geneve, Switzerland Sydney, Australia Washington DC Glasgow, Scotland San José, Costa Rica Denver, CO Helsinki, Finland Chihuahua, Mexico Detroit, MI Istanbul, Turkey Mexico City, Mexico Haiti Kaunas, Lithuania Guadalajara, Mexico Hawaii Kazan, Russia Santiago, Chile Houston, TX Kiev, Ukraine Sao Paulo, Brazil Indianapolis, IN Lisbon, Portugal Lagos, Nigeria Des Moines, IA Lithuania Tunis, Tunisia Kansas City, MO London, UK Cairo, Egypt Los Angeles, CA Lund, Sweden Alexandria, Egypt Lansing, MI Madrid, Spain Dubai, UAE Las Vegas, NV Manchester, UK Karachi, Pakistan Lexington, KY Marseille, France Hong Kong, SAR Madrona, WA Milan, Italy Miami, FL Montpellier, France Minneapolis, MN Moscow, Russia Twin Cities, MN Nizny Novgorod, Russia New England Nuremberg, Germany Northwest Arkansas, AR Olympia, Greece New York City, NY Oslo, Norway Oklahoma City, OK Paris, France Omaha, NE Porto, Portugal Phoenix, AZ Prague, Czech Republic Portland, OR Rome, Italy Puerto Rico Saint Petersburg, Russia Redmond – Bizspark Sofia, Bulgaria San Diego, CA Stockholm, Sweden Santa Fe, NM Stuttgart, Germany San Francisco Women 2.0, CA Tallinn, Estonia Seattle, WA Timisoara, Romania St. Louis, MO Toulouse, France St. Paul, MN Venice, Italy Tampa, FL Brussels, Belgium Topeka, KS Vienna, Austria Tulsa, OK Vilnius, Lithuania West Michigan Warsaw, Poland Canada Zurich, Switzerland Edmonton, AB New Brunswick, NB Montreal, QC Toronto, ON Vancouver, BC Waterloo, ON Awards & Recognition
In November, 2010, Startup Weekend was listed in Forbes as a "Name You Need to Know In 2011"[4]
In February 2011, Startup Weekend was featured on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine.
Past Media Coverage
ReadWriteWeb: http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/09/startup-weekend-set-for-rapid-with-kauffman-foundation-grant.php
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/helencoster/2010/11/16/names-you-need-to-know-in-2011-startup-weekend/
Entrepreneur magazine: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218104
Newsday: http://www.newsday.com/business/startup-weekend-48-hour-labor-for-business-births-1.2021510
Columbia Business Times: http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/12891/2011/09/16/startup-weekend-brings-a-meeting-of-entrepreneurial-minds/
Similar Organisations
IPO48 [5]
References
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