What is Startup Weekend?

What is Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend is a weekend event in cities around the world. A highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more meet and in a short 54 hour event work on building projects out. It is very much like an unconference, where the attendees show decide the outcome of the experience.

What is the weekend like?

The weekend is fun, mentally simulating and always profitable (2 of those are true)! It starts Friday at 6pm and finishes up Sunday at 6pm, the hours in between are up to the community. Startup Weekend gets everyone in the same room, sometimes clothes and always feeds. What is next is really up to the people that show up, it is your drive and passion that will lead the weekend.

When are you coming to {mycity}?

As will almost everything with Startup Weekend is decided by the community. Cities are added to the schedule with the City Vote Project. If your city is not there email Clint Nelsen – clint [at] startupweekend dot com and Marc Nager – marc [at] startupweekend dot com and request that it be added.

How did it start?

It was a late night in June of 2007 at TechStars when the idea was coined. Danny Newman and Stan James discussed how they missed collaborating on projects with others now they were working on bigger projects, later David Cohen and Joe Scharf pushed founder Andrew Hyde to take the concept into reality.

What is the agenda?

Have you ever worked at a startup? Startup Weekends don’t really have agendas, just general times when the building is open for everyone to meet and work. If you are an agenda driven person, Startup Weekend might not be for you. You make the agenda based on the people, ideas and mood.

Is the expectation to launch a startup in one weekend?

That is generally the goal but launching and incorporating are totally up to the teams that are put together at the start of the event. The excitement of launching makes the weekend thrilling. Go for it!

Multiple startups?

Yes. Depending on the number of attendees your number of projects will vary but typically 6-9 are formed in a given weekend.

How are details like legal, ownership, members etc handled?

The people working on the products will determine these issues during the weekend. Startup Weekend, LLC will not retain ownership of any company coming out of the weekend and does not issue any shares.

Is everyone who attends a participant?

Again, this will be determined by the participants. It is your weekend, but don’t show up to watch. Participate!

What happens once the weekend ends?

Above all, we hope that a strong community bond will form. Beyond that, it depends on the group. Past weekends have seen groups work beyond the weekend and continue to build and market their products. Several projects have incorporated as companies and a few have raised angel rounds. Skribit is an example.

Aren’t people concerned about someone running away with their idea?

Given the nature of the event, and the fact that it will be live twittered/blogged/streamed etc., trade secrets will be difficult to enforce. We suggest that if you have an idea that you don’t want taken, then don’t present them. However, we sincerely believe that ideas by themselves are worthless, it’s all about the execution of your idea and the drive and determination to spend 2-3 years to turn it into a business. Remember: nobody loves
your idea more than you do.

Do You Sleep At the Event?

Unfortunately, with this event we cannot let participants stay overnight. This is due to the security around our venue at Pakhuis de Zwijger. However, we can recommend the following places to try and catch a few zzz’s! HOSTELS / HOTELS

Who Runs Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend LLC is run by the community supporting entrepreneurship. Every weekend has a facilitator that is approved by Startup Weekend, LLC.

Is Startup Weekend a Company?

No, Startup Weekend is a foundation run internationally from Seattle HQ and run locally
by groups of volunteers that spend their time and energy because they love the nature, vibe and creativity that occurs during Startup Weekend and in startups in general.

Can I sponsor the Weekend?

Yes you can, in two ways. You can be a local sponsor for one weekend or a national sponsor for all the weekends. Email Don Ritzen; donritzen(at)startupweekend.org for more info.

What do the ticket types mean on the registration page?

First of all, 99% of the people that are asking about this are stressing out. Don’t. The ticket types are for, and sorry for the all caps, but we are going to use them, PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. If something is sold out, sign up for something else, just email the organizer. Cool? Planning purposes only. Got it?

Remember to pick what you would like to spend your weekend doing, not necessarily what you do for your day job and you’re totally free to change roles throughout the weekend.