3 weeks ago, I didn’t know what Startup Weekend was. 1 week ago, I had never been. Today, a couple days after my first one, I’ve been spit back out the other side. Here’s what I am right now, in the aftermath:
Tired – That was a long and intense weekend. No worries from me – that’s what I expected and that’s what I wanted -a chance to engage myself in a project and in an environment… not only for the time working, but for the time eating, sleeping, and the time lying in bed not sleeping. I got what I wanted.
Inspired – The fatigue from Startup Weekend will wear off in another couple days, but the inspiration will last awhile. I’ve come back to my ‘real job’ (which looks very similar, just with less people and better hours), and came back with a sense of excitement and purpose… with a new energy and new ideas.
Smarter – As much as Startup Weekend is about doing (instead of talking about doing), it is (perhaps as a result) a great learning experience. I got a lot better at what I do from doing it non-stop for a whole weekend, and doing side-by-side with a whole bunch of good people.
More Connected – Startup Weekend isn’t a networking event – people who use it just for that are easily exposed (and mostly ignored) by the people there to work. However, between the workers, some real connections start to form, and real networking starts to occur (you know, the kind where you actually call the person who gave you the card). I came out of the weekend with some new friends, and friends I’d like to work with again sometime soon.
Appreciative – Andrew talks a lot about building a Startup Weekend community, and admittedly, that can get lost in the bustle of activity. But when all was said and done, the community is what stuck with me. I felt, and still feel a tangible sense of appreciation… appreciation that there are a ton of other talented people doing the things I do, and appreciation that they shared in doing it for a couple great days. Entrepreneurship can be lonely… Startup Weekend makes it a group activity. And really, that’s pretty cool.
Now I can’t wait until the next one!
Brian Burns is an entrepreneur and freelance copy-writer loving the life in Boulder, CO. You can see him in action at his blog, StartupWriting.com.
The new format is a hit. The same passionate and in depth conversations are happening. Everyone is developing a new startup concept (with the goal of having the idea, model and prototype by the end of the weekend), or are walking around and tasting what a bunch of different startups are like.
Because of this, progress is being made on current startups as well as creating new startups.
Cofounders are meeting. The community is getting stronger. This is the main goal of the weekend, glad to see it working so well.
We have quite a few students tagging along with startup veterans (I wish I could have done this while I was in school!).
Reed Foehl came and played a 3 song acoustic set, and was a huge hit. This is one of the amazing musicians that SMTVmusic.com has provided to the weekend.
Laura and Tara are doing an amazing job with MediaCasters.tv, doing a very interesting experiment of using utterz, ustream, seesmic, blogtv, and twitter to give up to the minute updates and live video coverage of the event. I think they are doing an amazing job, you? Thank you to pulver.tv for sponsoring this aspect of the weekend!
Six people have flown or driven quite a distance to be here (one driving from Indiana)
We were front page news for the two local daily papers. Fun to see a social media geek get something on an old media front page.
The Weekend’s first lifecaster came in and started up some amazing conversation, which built up because there was interaction happening at home (contradicting my dislike of live video). It was very cool seeing the interaction of the at home community.
It looks like there will be 8 substantial projects coming out of the weekend. I will write up a few of them tomorrow, when they launch (oh, no, did I just jinx it?).
I’m sure you’ve heard all the typical reasons to live in Colorado before. However, you might not know what it’s like to work for a startup here in Boulder, let alone head your own. Lucky for those of us already involved in the local startup scene (and those looking to be) the best reasons to live here transfer to the working culture in their entirety with the added benefits of Boulder’s own element of flair. Outside of the Valley and the Boston area, Boulder is often mentioned as one of the top cities for starting a business (at least in the tech industry). Offering access to a young, but intelligent population and the experience of seasoned angel investors and venture capitalists, this area is an excellent choice as a place to launch your next great idea or find a new job. Taking a tour of local startups it’s not uncommon to see company ski passes hanging outside the rec room, an occasional Wii tennis match in progress, or the requisite foosball table(s).
The quality of life attracts a good number of the best and brightest and Forbes agrees with Boulder topping their list of the smartest cities in the US. Even more compelling, recent research shows that socially liberal locales tend to drive innovation and enable creativity - this city certainly falls into that category. It seems as if everyone here is involved in something new and intriguing, evident by the growing popularity of the numerous events each month. Staying connected or getting involved is simple with the morning coffee meets and open forums for discussion, the more structured New Tech meetups where new companies or people with cool ideas can give presentations, or a green tech event everywhere you look. We even even have our own clothing line for venture capitalists and investors!
The original Startup Weekend was held here, and it’s come full circle.. back to where it all began, though this time with a twist. The format’s been changed up, rather than focus one one company and one idea we’ll be working on starting up many projects and companies (as many as the group desires). Come experience Boulder’s startup scene with the perfect venue - the Second Boulder Startup Weekend starts at 6pm today. Missed it the first time around - won’t make that mistake again. See you there.
Full of great ideas, but just can’t seem to get started? Got loads of talent, but haven’t a clue where to begin? Maybe just looking for something new and different to do with your weekend?
Join over 75 entrepreneurs, software developers, and creatives for Boulder’s second Startup Weekend March 21st - 23rd.
15 Weekends have come and gone with basically the exact same format.
It all started in Boulder, and it is only fitting that we try something new for the second weekend to come through this great city.
So now we launch the marketing term Startup Weekend 2.0 for our weekend. Startup Weekend is an amazing event for building community, finding cofounders and finding a challenge for yourself. Looking back over the past weekends there is a huge opportunity to build on our strengths by changing around the format.
The main changes are:
Multiple Projects
As a group we are no longer working on just one company. If a group of seven, one or 45 for that matter wants to tackle a project or start a company, fantastic. The community will take charge here, but nothing will be decided until Friday night. All equity decisions will be made at the event.
Build on a Project
An existing company can recruit a few some brilliant tech minds to spend two hours with working to make their project stronger.
No Company Required
Every project will be different, but there will be no requirement to incorporate a company
We are going to try this model out this weekend, and really listen to the community to see how it goes, at the Boulder Startup Weekend, taking place this Friday at 6pm in room S125 at the Leeds Business School building at the University of Colorado, Boulder. If you have not registered you can still get a ticket and see who is coming on the registration page.
One of the great things I love about living in Boulder is the amount of humble talent that is around town. I ran into Ginnie Meyers of BizChicks at a party last week and we started talking about our current businesses and state of entrepreneurship and startups (both loves of ours). I asked her if she could help answer some questions. Hope you enjoy Ginnie’s thoughtful answers.
I have written about the accessibility of entrepreneurship and lack of women in technology being a problem, what has been your experience?
I do not consider myself a tech-savvy person. That being said, I have come to the conclusion that a lack of a presence of women in the tech sector is a result of the socialization of young women away from technology. We (women) are told that we can be good artists, writers, caregivers and elementary school teachers, but society makes us less inclined to take on the role of a programmer, scientist or tech entrepreneur.
You worked with the Techstars program last year, what did you learn? Being the only girl in the program, did you have any negative experiences?
Coming in to Techstars, I had very little exposure to the opportunities of the tech industry. I come from a business background, so most of what I learned pertained to technology.
While working for Techstars this summer, I was treated with the utmost respect. Being the only woman had no impact on the way that I was treated by the Techstars founders and investors.
Would you recommend the startup world to other females? What is the biggest drawback?
The start-up world is not for everyone. It requires an adventurous personality. However, for those women who might be entrepreneurialy-inclined, the tech sector has some of the biggest potential pecuniary rewards.
What is the biggest positive?
For me: freedom.
What are you currently working on to boost female participation in tech?
My focus is not on boosting female participation in technology, per se. I look to encourage female participation in business, through BizChicks™. However, we have had a trend of tech entrepreneurs coming to speak to the BizChicks™ recently, including Terry Gold, the President of Gold Systems and Lucy Sanders, the founder of the National Center for Women Information Technology (NCWIT).
What needs to happen for more females to get involved? What is your theory on why the percentages are so low?
There needs to be a societal shift away from conventional gender roles. At a very young age, women need to be encouraged to take advanced math and computer science courses and to not shy away from the more male-dominated classrooms. The biggest shift needs to be in parents’ and teachers’ thought toward women in technology (and the sciences).
Does being a female in tech open doors or close them?
I think it opens them. More and more, we are becoming a society controlled by our technology. We are at the point that no one can avoid technology, from cell phones to laptops, every industry has become a tech industry. Even if a woman is not a programmer or a techie, having an understanding of the fundamentals of tech are essential to success in any field.
As for being a female in the tech sector, I think more and more companies are looking for women to create an androgynous perspective of their products. It is a very good time for women to pursue tech.
What are your plans post college?
Since I graduated in May, I have been working with the BizChicks™, trying to franchise the organization to schools beyond CU- Boulder. I have also been working for Search to Phone™, Inc., working on miscellaneous finance, marketing and biz dev projects. I will be moving to London in the coming weeks to pursue investment banking.
Thanks again Ginnie! I hope to do this more on different topics.
Lots of things are in the works at Startup Weekend. Here is a quick update:
We are opening up the schedule. If you have participated in a Startup Weekend before and want to run your own, drop me an email and lets work on setting one up. It is still not decentralized project.
I have been working on setting up several weekends. Expect a launch of 3 new weekends in the next week.
Sales to the Boulder Startup Weekend and the Portland Startup Weekend have been brisk. I will post when they are close to selling out, but you have a little more time to procrastinate before buying your ticket.
The feedback has been amazing. Thank you to everyone that has contacted me offering kind words or support.
Startup Weekend is hiring! This project began with very humble beginnings, and is now growing and expanding beyond what I though was ever possible. More on this later this week.
Guest writers are needed! This blog is getting a fare amount of traffic from all sorts of amazing startup folk. If you have a topic that that you are passionate about, let me know and we will set something up.
Hope February is treating you well (and you are staying away from the flu and colds that have been so bad this year).
We added two widgets to the sidebar of this blog. The nPost job board is a very cool recourse for anyone looking for a job in this area, and the User Voice is a great way for collecting feedback.
The original Boulder Startup Weekend started this whole project. It was in Boulder, late one night, that the idea was coined. Later, the idea was nudged into reality. And now 7 months later, after 15 Startup Weekend events around the world, it is time to come home.
The Boulder Startup Weekend II will take place March 21st-23rd at the CU . Tickets are on sale here for $40 and will be used to provide food, shirts, posters, music, streamers, pop rocks and soda.
This is from the first post of the Startup Weekend project:
“Create a startup in a weekend.
Simple eh? Let’s go.
Oh, you want more details?
In the Boulder/Denver mini Valley there is a sizable chunk of humble talent. Let’s get together, pick and idea and launch a startup around the idea in a weekend.”
So with that, I want to open the registration for the Boulder Startup Weekend II, which will be the first ’sequel’ of a city. Fitting for the city that inspired it all to be the first to repeat. Expectations are high, space is limited, sign up today.
Laura
I’m sure you’ve heard all the typical reasons to live in Colorado before. However, you might not know what it’s like to work for a startup here in Boulder, let alone head your own. Lucky for those of us already involved in the local startup scene (and those looking to be) the best reasons to live here transfer to the working culture in their entirety with the added benefits of Boulder’s own element of flair. Outside of the Valley and the Boston area, Boulder is often mentioned as one of the top cities for starting a business (at least in the tech industry). Offering access to a young, but intelligent population and the experience of seasoned angel investors and venture capitalists, this area is an excellent choice as a place to launch your next great idea or find a new job. Taking a tour of local startups it’s not uncommon to see company ski passes hanging outside the rec room, an occasional Wii tennis match in progress, or the requisite foosball table(s).
15 Weekends have come and gone with basically the exact same format.
