Startup Weekend coming back to the Bay Area!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
Hey everyone! Check out Startup Weekend Bay Area going on at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View November 2oth-22nd!
Check it out at: http://bayarea.startupweekend.org
Company Updates!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
Hey Everyone! A few weeks have passed already, and I sent out a request to see where everyone was at. If you are not on the list and want to update everyone, send me an e-mail with all of your info! – Marc
Karma Kompass
Status: Waiting for iPhone app approval
Twitter: @peignoir
Website: www.karmakompass.com
Wardrobe Shuffle
Status: Still working – Will launch prototype soon
Twitter: @wardrobeshuffle
Google Group: wardrobeshuffle@googlegroups.com
Sulusso
Status: Soft launch was Sep. 1 – Hard launch to be Oct. 1
Website: www.sulusso.com
Twitter: @sulusso
How to leverage StartupWeekend to build a long term business–founderShack team learnings
Posted by foundershack
The founderShack team loves startupweekend–the people, the energy, the comaderie, and the resources. That’s why we keep coming back. The women 2.0 startupweekend was the second startup weekend for the FounderShack team. We met and formed founderShack at our first one in April 09. We are one of the two intact teams from the April StartupWeekend (the other one being @adamsblock).
We’ve learned a lot about how to leverage StartupWeekend to develop business ideas and teams for long term health and viability. Here are a few of the top learnings that we’d like to share with you:
- Think long-term–once you meet potential founders and get to know them a bit the next step should be to discuss the minimal number of steps that would allow you to test the viability of your startup and serve as a motivator to the team in the next few months. Many times this does not include having a working prototype ready for Sunday evening. In fact we feel that teams that rush to develop a prototype for Sunday night tend to loose steam and disband after the weekend. Motivation and interpersonal trust suffer from the go-go-go attitude
- Take advantage of the weekend for customer research–Remember your customers know better, especially those attending startup weekend. Go around their tables, talk to them. You’d be surprised at how open they are to giving you feedback. Leave your feeling of “I’m right” and “I know better” at your table. Talk to people, establish rapport, engage them. You might be surprised at what you learn.
- Learn from investors, serial entrepreneurs, panelists and anyone else with some startup experience–Some may wonder if these people are actually there? The answer is yes. If you can’t find them ask the weekend organizers and they will be happy to point these folks out to you. One of the key benefits, should you avail it, of startup weekend is the community building and access to resources. It would be hard for you to find as receptive and approachable group of people elsewhere.
- Practice concise clear public speaking before, during, and after the event–I tweeted from the @founderShack account the ideas from the lightening pitches as well as the final presentations. Despite my best intentions I am sure there were some ideas I butchered. Make it easy for me and others who help promote your startup and ideas, by making your pitches simple and obvious. Remember the intent of the pitches is not to show people how much you have thought about the idea (you don’t have time for this due to format restrictions) instead it is to pique their interest. If you get interest after the pitch you can explore if those interested are a good fit as partners, investors, etc. This may mean that during the weekend’s prep work you might want to focus on the final presentation more than a working prototype.
And for those of you who have attended StartupWeekend before, tell all your friends about StartupWeekend and the process. Many don’t know about how great this event can be. Others have misconceptions about the weekend format forcing you to work on one idea only. Also plug the event at non-techie or artsy crowds. Ludmil recently plugged it to the head of graduate studies at CCA (the SF local art school). The more folks you talk to about the weekend and the more misconceptions you will clear the richer the community and its resources will become.
That’s it from us. We hope this was helpful and wish you lots of luck with your startup ideas and future startupweekends. Let us know if we can be of help. @FounderShack is eharmony for founders. We give you the environment to find founders and ideas that are compatible with your interests and personality. Curious about what we offer? Sign up for beta at www.founderShack.com. The founderShack team (Themios, Ludmil, and Sana aka @traffichoney)
Thank you Sponsors
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
We want to thank all of our sponsors from this event. Without their support, these events wouldn’t happen. Startup Weekend is amazingly unique that it actually pulls members and organizations in the community together and they take a direct investment into promoting entrepreneurs and startups.
Startup Weekend strategically selects our sponsors to ensure that each has a value add for our community. A huge thank you from this event to Sun Startup Essentials, sfCUBE, Trivium, SuperRewards, Cooley Godward Kronish, Orange, Twilio, Funding Roadmap, Venture 360, HiBall Energy Drinks, Flippa, and United Layer.
Company Profiles from SanFran SW with Women2.0!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
Allright everyone! A HUGE congratulations is in order for Escape My Date and FoodSpotting! Escape My Date got a FREE one month tenure offered to them by PlugandPlayTechCenter where they will have access to amazing resources and immerse themselves in the startup world where they can grow quickly and successfully.
As a complete unknown, Foodspotting was actually invested in Sunday night shortly after their presentation by an angel investor who was present. Look for these guys in the news!
All of these teams were offered one month free at sfCUBE in San Francisco to continue their efforts!
Great job teams! You seriously rocked this weekend! Be sure to take advantage of the resources provided and KEEP WORKING on your projects!
See you call September 23rd back at sfCUBE starting at 6pm!
“In a sticky social situation?”Use escape my date to get out of it!
Website: http://www.escapemydate.com/
“HalfWrit.com is a social writing site for fiction writers who want to grow creatively through sharing and shaping short stories. Small peer circles provide framing for creative problems, moderation of content and quality, constructive feedback on work.”
Website: http://halfwrit.com/
“The smart reminder service that helps you network better.”
Website: http://professionalpoke.com/
“Your flat fee staffing partner. Ideal candidate. Easy, predictable, cheaper.”
Website: http://ultimatehire.com/
“A visual local guide that lets you find dishes, not just restaurants.”
Website: http://foodspotting.net/
“Live it. Write it. Share it.”
Website: http://40weeks.com/
“Know your footprint.”
Website: http://www.kulstof.com/
“Iz in ur pantry counting ur food stuffs.”
Website: http://inurpantry.com/
“Online code editing and sharing.”
Website: http://codesharehub.appspot.com/
“Redefining Luxury – Sustainable Luxury”
Website: http://stores.sulusso.com/StoreFront.bok
“Friends helping friends. Give and get the right gift.”
“Easily find faith based groups, places of worship and events in your local area.”
Website: http://flockpile.org/
“Claim and manage your user (brand) names.”
Website: http://www.netnyms.com/
Twitter: @netnyms
“Get the tools to mobilize your friends to volunteer.”
Website: http://www.igiveadamnnetwork.org/
“Twitter, at a glance.”
Website: http://twelescope.com/
Twitter: @twelescope
“Friendly, online, rapid kolaboration.”
Website: http://forkthis.net/
KaramaCompass (need logo)
Wardrobe Shuffle
“Life is too short to be stuck in the closet.”
@wardrobeshuffle
Geezer Alert (need logo)
Sunday Night… It’s a Wrap!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
AMAZING event!
18 startups, free space offered to EVERY team by sfCUBE, one month tenure at PlugandPlayTechCenter, $5k given to a team, startup discounts by Sun Startup Essentials, Free hosting by United Layer, Free software from Funding Road Map, Free Venture 360 reports, amazing legal advice from Cooley Godward Kronish, Free consulting from Trivium, free minutes (and food) from Twilio, discounted beer from Devils Canyon Brewing Company, Free energy drinks fromHiBall, huge support from SuperRewards, Orange, Free tickets to Startup Day 2009, amazing advice from experienced investors, evangelists, lawyers, ceo’s, VCs, etc, etc.
This event was an amazing event. Working with Women 2.0, we really accomplished our goal for this event: to help provide the networking, resources and incentives to get entrepreneurs going!
Check back Tuesday for a full update of all the companies! (if you have pictures, video, blog posts, please send to Marc!)
Time for some sleep.. Finally! Thank you for your support everyone! See you Wednesday, September 23rd for a re-cap at sfCUBE. Stay tuned for more info on that!
Day 3… Prepping for the launch!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
After a long day, some energy drinks, little to zero sleep, we have about 20 teams still working hard. Its about 9am right now and people are starting to file in and get busy. Teams are focused now about getting a conceptual model to present tonight.
Later today, we will have representatives in today from Trivium, Sun, Cooley Godward Kronish, and United Layer helping teams answer questions and give advice to help teams really get moving.
This event has drawn some amazing talent and is allowing teams to hyperdevelop their models and create an enormous amount of invested value form the weekend. Keep working!!!
Day 2… AM…. Teams formed
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
It is amazing to see how fast these teams have formed… This group is here for some serious business!
Right now we have Ruth Hedges from Funding Roadmap going form team to team to set them up with FREE access to the software. This is an amazing value and a perfect tool for teams to utilize over the weekend.
We also have Otto from United Layer getting teams set up with 3 months of FREE web hosting!
Llydia from Private Label Mail offering free access to her web marketing and CRM soultion!
Make sure to check out all of the great resources being offered for this event!
Day 1 Roundup!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
Day 1 Roundup from Thunderberry!
“It’s coming up to 11:30 PST on the first day of Startup Weekend, which is as close as this is going to come to an “end” – The location for this year’s event is SFCube, which in true entrepreneurial spirit is open 24 hours a day. Want to work for 48 hours straight on nothing but beer and red bull? No problem.
The event has been a rowdy success so far, with 39 ideas pitched and only 10 deadpools before the end of the evening. Most groups will rejoin tomorrow morning to solidify their feature set and make the first steps toward a real product.
Read on for the full list of ideas pitched:”
The Countdown!
Posted by Startup Weekend Crew
We are getting really excited! 130 attendees signed up and counting. Hurry and get your tickets if you have not already! Be sure to check out the Friday night pitch format and come ready and willing!
sfCUBE will be open 24/7, so if you are planning to really get some work done, bring a bean bag chair or pillow!
Also, we want to make sure we are overprepared if anything, so if you have any of the following items and can bring them just to use for the weekend, please let me know!
- Wireless Routers (need about 3 more – Wireless N prefferd)
- Extra power strip and extension cords
- Extra Eathernet cables
We will see everyone at sfCUBE Friday night starting at 5:30!