Startup Weekend

Posted by Alex Farcet

Excellent news for the Copenhagen Startup Weekend:  CONNECT Denmark has agreed to become a sponsor.

The interesting thing is that they are offering something much more valuable than cash: access to their network.  CONNECT Denmark is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote entrepreneurship and networking in the Danish startup community.  They organize many events throughout the year and also run “Springboards” which are expert panel review sessions for startups.

CONNECT will offer the following to the team which wins the best pitch on Sunday night:

• A Pre-Springboard for the winning idea/project – this is a chance for the team to pitch their idea to a selection of CONNECT Denmark members (typically entrepreneurs, investors and subject experts).
• An invitation to the winning team to join CONNECT Denmark’s networking and theme events in the rest of 2010. The monetary value of this is DKK 2000/person, and there will be at least 5 such events in Copenhagen and Sjælland with more in the rest of Denmark

Another incentive to join Startup Weekend and pitch your idea!  Click on the red “Register” button above and sign up today.

Posted by Alex Farcet

One of the most common questions we’re getting is:

“Do I have to pitch an idea to participate in Startup Weekend?”
The answer is no, you don’t.  Experience tells us from past events that about a third of participants take the opportunity on Friday evening to pitch their idea; the rest of the participants are quite happy to join teams once the crowd has voted on the best pitches.

Other frequently asked questions include:

• Will the event be in English or Danish?
  The participants are certainly international and we expect that most people will pitch in English, but it’s up to you.  If you are more comfortable pitching in Danish that’s fine.  Just be aware that you may have some participants not completely follow your pitch.  As for group work, you’re all adults and we expect you to do what’s right for your team.
• Can I be there for part of the weekend only?
  That’s certainly not preferred.  You and your team have a very short amount of time to get a lot done and every minute counts.  One recommendation: if you must leave for part of the event, it’s a good idea to manage expectations and be upfront and open about it with the rest of your team.
• Does my startup idea have to be tech or IT?
  Historically, because of the time constraint most teams have worked on web apps, mobile apps, API’s, etc.  But you can pitch any idea you have, in any area.  Keep in mind, however, that you have two days to make progress on a prototype of some kind. It would be sad to have all that tech talent around and only come up with a nice powerpoint presentation on Sunday night.
• I’m not a programmer or techie, can I still join?
  Of course!  The right balance of skills is about one third to half of the attendees being programmers.  The other two thirds or half need to be a nice mix of all sorts of skills: designers, marketing people, social media experts, lawyers, business developers, and so on.  The idea is to build teams which can make progress on a number of fronts in two days.
• My idea is special, what about non-disclosure?
  As with every other situation, only share what you think is safe to share.  But practically every successful entrepreneur will tell you that it’s not the idea, it’s the execution.  And to execute, you need to bring team members, investors, media and everyone else on board with your project.  That means sharing your idea, getting early and frequent feedback from customers, friends and contacts and generally telling the whole world about your project.  What better way is there to start than to join Startup Weekend?

Posted by Alex Farcet

290 startups have come out of Startup Weekends. Some have gone on to success, many were one-offs. But lots and lots of experience curve has been climbed and that’s the whole point: to try your hand at entrepreneurship without necessarily quitting your job or borrowing money. It’s fun, energizing, purposeful and risk-free!

Here’s a sample of past Startup Weekend companies: past companies

At spot number two in the above list is Foodspotting which is still going strong. See below a video where the original team explains what they’re doing during Startup Weekend (second team):

Posted by Alex Farcet

Many people have told me they’re definitely coming to the Copenhagen Startup Weekend. And tickets sales are starting to pick up, which is great (by the way, 100% of ticket revenue goes to covering food & drinks – Startup Weekend is a non-profit driven by volunteers in every city).

How do you buy a ticket? Click on the red “Register” button above.

I’ve also been asked who else is coming. You can see who has bought tickets so far here and you can also see who has joined various social groups:

Facebook

LinkedIn Event

LinkedIn Group

Ning

Which ever of the above you prefer, I encourage you to invite your network and spread the word.

Posted by Alex Farcet

We’re proud to announce that both Sunstone Capital (thanks to Nikolaj Nyholm) and Vækstfonden (thanks to Christian Motzfeldt & team) are sponsoring the Copenhagen Startup Weekend.

This enables us to hand out a 10.000 DKK prize to the best final pitch on Sunday night. We’ve started assembling a panel of experienced entrepreneurs, investors and board members who will judge the pitches and hand out the event.

Posted by Alex Farcet

Two new ways of seeing who’s attending: Join the Copenhagen Startup Weekend group on Facebook and the LinkedIn event.

We aim to be at least 100 attendees.  Many people have told us they are coming and have blocked the dates but have not bought tickets yet.  Click on the red ‘Register’ button above to ensure you have a spot (and help us plan meals and logistics).

Who should attend?  Ideally we’ll have a good mix of techies (at least 50%) and others:

• Entrepreneurs
• Programmers (web, mobile apps, API’s, etc.)
• Designers
• Innovation & product managers
• Business developers
• Social media experts
• Lawyers
• etc.

Posted by Alex Farcet

Here’s a brand new video which gives a really good feel of what Startup Weekends are about:

And here’s another from the 2009 Bay Area (San Francisco) Startup Weekend:

Posted by Alex Farcet

The Copenhagen Startup Weekend is off to a flying start – we already have a facility in place.  We’re going to be hosted by the incubator at Niels Brock, a fantastic facility right in the heart of Copenhagen.

Niels Brock incubator 1

Niels Brock incubator 3

Niels Brock incubator

More pictures at the Startupbootcamp Flickr page.

Posted by Alex Farcet

Welcome to the most exciting startup event throughout the Nordics in 2010!

On April 9th, Startup Weekends will be running simultaneously in Copenhagen, Stockholm*, Lund, Olso, Helsinki, Vilnius and Kaunas.

(*April 17th)

Startup Weekends are a unique, fun and effective way of testing your startup idea. Convince the crowd that yours is one of the best ideas and you’ll get to work with coders, designers, marketeers, lawyers and others from Friday to Sunday evening.

The events start on Friday evening with anyone pitching their idea. The crowd then votes on the best pitches and teams are formed around the winning ideas.  Teams then work through to Sunday evening where final pitches are made.

Startup Weekends were created by startupweekend.org, a non-profit organisation based in Seattle and are co-hosted in the Nordics by Startupbootcamp (a Copenhagen-based, Techstars-inspired 3 month startup creation program) and Optiteam.

A short interview with Clint Nelsen of startupweekend.org:

Want to get involved?

• We’re looking for local partners in each city (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Lund, Olso, Helsinki and Tallinn) to help us find venues, recruit participants, and identify sponsors.
• Want to include your city on April 9th?  Make suggestion.

–>Contact us at weekend@startupbootcamp.dk or call +45 24 29 4000.

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew