Organization:Startup Weekend / Up.co

Overview

Startup weekend is a 54-hour event, typically held on weekends, where aspiring entrepreneurs meet to progress their ideas.

Each day of the event has a different focus; Friday is for pitching ideas and gathering a team, Saturday and part of Sunday is for building a viable product, and Sunday night is prototype demonstration and judging of ideas.

Purpose

The purpose of startup weekend is to enable attendees to get educated, network, and launch a product- all within a super tight time frame. 54 hours of people, pizza, and pop provide an environment not seen in many other seminar events.

It appears that most startup weekend events are focused primarily on launching web, mobile, or service products- they do not focus on engineered or material products. Understandable, as most products that require design research and physical prototyping are simply unfeasable to launch within such a short timeframe. A Fellow may be wise to take this into account when decidding if this resource is best for their purposes.

A notable exception to this include the Toronto startup weekend, which hosts a 'maker edition,' giving attendees access to the full suite of resources one would typically encounter at a hackerworks/makerworks.

Distinct Differences From Other Offerings

Startup Weekend provides a quick-and-dirty, hands on learning experience that is hard to replicate. Since attendees are focused solely on their products and ideas for the entire weekend, with access to resources the entire way, Startup Weekend can enable entrenrenuers to conceive and launch an idea in under three days.

Hilightable differences include:

-Faster paced than other resources

-Focus primarily on mobile/web/it/service products- products that can be built and launched in a relatively short timeframe, without safety, design, or material concerns

-Focus primarily on early business lessons; what is required to start and run business at first

-Provides 'coaches,'  experienced business leaders to assist and advise the startup process

-Competition style event; not purely a seminar, offers judging by an organizer selected panel

Startup weekend is focused on fast paced, hands on learning with little time for theory or lecture.

Impact Achieved For Students and Campus

Startup Weekend's website cites that over 1/3 of startups founded at their events are still running smooth after three months of business, and that ~80% of participants are still working with those companies- perhaps an impressive feat considering their attendance record of over 45,000 alumni.

Startup weekend teaches attendees how to rapidly develop and mature an idea- it appears to focus more on the initial startup of the business than the long-term running. While valuable networking opportunities are sure to present themselves, this may not be the event for the seasoned entreprenuer looking for fine tweaks and coaching.

Steps Required To Bring Resource to Campus

The Startup Weekend homepage provides a handy step-by-step guide to bringing their event to your city! Attendance at a previous startup weekend is a requirement for any prospective 'Organizers,' as Startup Weekend calls them.

An Organizer is responsible for organizing nearly the entire event from the ground up, from venue and food logistics to securing judges and coaches.

The largest barrier that must be overcome in order to bring Startup Weekend to your campus or city is the requirement for an Organizer to be a Startup Weekend alumni- that is, they must have previously attended a startup weekend. Access to such an event depends on the proximity of your campus to startup events and your willingness to make the journey to attend one - or to convince an alumni to come to you!

Startup weekend presents itself as a simple, easy to deploy system- they host a variety of documentation on their webpage to assist in getting one set up.

Amongst the resources, a few highlights include:

-Leadership and team building advice

-Target audience & potential areas to look for budding entreprenuers

-Financial information (planning, acquiring sponsors, etc..)

-Day by day guides to suggested event planning

Contact Information

For general information regarding Startup Weekend, see the homepage at http://startupweekend.org/

For direct contact information, there is a form webpage at http://startupweekend.org/contact/

Mailing Address:

1700 7th Ave, Suite 116 #147
Seattle, WA 98101