Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, USA, that organizes 54-hour weekend events during which groups of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to develop a working prototype, demo, and/or presentation by Sunday evening. In the past 3 years Startup Weekend has grown into an organization with a global presence, having organized (as of December 2010) 207 events spanning 120 cities and 35 countries.^[1] Startup Weekend's stated mission is to be the most valuable and influential organization in fostering startup communities around the world.^[1] In September, 2010, Startup Weekend received a grant from The Kauffman Foundation, the largest foundation for entrepreneurship in the world.^[2]

1 History
2 The Event Model
3 Cities
4 Awards & Recognition
5 Past Media Coverage
6 Similar Organisations
7 References

History

Founded in 2007 in Boulder, Colorado by Andrew Hyde, Startup Weekend LLC was initially created as an event where a group of individuals would brainstorm a single business idea and work to bring that business to fruition over the course of the weekend. Due in large part to complications around ownership and equity sharing, this idea quickly began to evolve into its current form (see 'The Event Model' below.) In June 2009, Marc Nager and Clint Nelson took over full ownership and registered the organization as a 501c6 not-for-profit, relocating to Seattle. As of the acquisition, Startup Weekend had organized approximately 34 events in the USA and Canada.. In February 2010, Franck Nouyrigat joined as a Co-Director and CTO. In the fall of 2010, Startup Weekend gained 501c3 status and received a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. By December 2010, the organization was composed of 8 full-time employees, over 15 'Key Facilitators', and more than 100 local organizers. To date, Startup Weekend has organized over 200 events in 30 countries, including Lebanon, Israel, Oman, Spain, Portugal, Russia, UK, Italy, Chile, Brazil, US, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and more (for a full list, see 'Cities' below).^[1]

The Event Model

Startup Weekend events span the course of a weekend (approximately 54 hours), and are generally composed of 50-100 participants (although events in the past have ranged from 13-300+). In addition to attendees (otherwise known as 'Weekend Warriors'), the event attracts speakers, mentors, panelists (generally well-respected members of the local startup community or notable names in the tech industry), and various sponsors and company representatives. A short documentary film explains it best,^[3] but a typical event schedule is as follows:

Friday:

6:30pm – Registration starts 7:00pm – Dinner & Networking 7:20pm – Welcome & Speakers 7:30pm – Pitches Begin - 60 Seconds per person 9:00pm – Attendees vote for the top ideas 9:15pm – Teams start forming and discussing ideas 10:00pm – 1:00am - Teams begin to work

Saturday:

9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 9:30am – Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend 12:00pm – Lunch 1:00pm – Call for needs & skills 2:00pm – Mentors help teams one-on-one. They are here to help! 6:30pm – Dinner 7:30pm – Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help 10:00pm – Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow.

Sunday:

9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 10:00am – 12:00pm – Lunch 12:30pm – Mentors arrive… ASK QUESTIONS 3:00pm – Gut check. Start prepping for presentations 4:00pm – Dinner 5:00pm – FINAL PRESENTATIONS 7:30pm – Judging & awards 8:30pm – Wrapup 9:00pm – Go home!

Cities

North America	Europe	Other
Atlanta, GA	Aarhus, Denmark	Bangalore, India
Austin, TX	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Beijing, China
Baltimore, MD	Athens, Greece	New Delhi, India
Bay Area, CA	Barcelona, Spain	Malaysia
Boston, MA	Berlin, Germany	Oman
Boulder, CO	Bucharest, Romania	Seoul, S. Korea
Charlotte, NC	Cambridge, UK	Singapore
Chicago, IL	Copenhagen, Denmark	Tokyo, Japan
Cleveland, OH	Dublin, Ireland	Beirut, Lebanon
Columbus, OH	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Tel Aviv, Israel
Corvallis, OR	Galicia, Spain	Auckland, New Zealand
Dallas, TX	Geneve, Switzerland	Sydney, Australia
Washington DC	Glasgow, Scotland	San José, Costa Rica
Denver, CO	Helsinki, Finland	Chihuahua, Mexico
Detroit, MI	Istanbul, Turkey	Mexico City, Mexico
Haiti	Kaunas, Lithuania	Guadalajara, Mexico
Hawaii	Kazan, Russia	Santiago, Chile
Houston, TX	Kiev, Ukraine	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Indianapolis, IN	Lisbon, Portugal	Lagos, Nigeria
Des Moines, IA	Lithuania	Tunis, Tunisia
Kansas City, MO	London, UK	Cairo, Egypt
Los Angeles, CA	Lund, Sweden	Alexandria, Egypt
Lansing, MI	Madrid, Spain	Dubai, UAE
Las Vegas, NV	Manchester, UK	Karachi, Pakistan
Lexington, KY	Marseille, France	Hong Kong, SAR
Madrona, WA	Milan, Italy
Miami, FL	Montpellier, France
Minneapolis, MN	Moscow, Russia
Twin Cities, MN	Nizny Novgorod, Russia
New England	Nuremberg, Germany
Northwest Arkansas, AR	Olympia, Greece
New York City, NY	Oslo, Norway
Oklahoma City, OK	Paris, France
Omaha, NE	Porto, Portugal
Phoenix, AZ	Prague, Czech Republic
Portland, OR	Rome, Italy
Puerto Rico	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Redmond – Bizspark	Sofia, Bulgaria
San Diego, CA	Stockholm, Sweden
Santa Fe, NM	Stuttgart, Germany
San Francisco Women 2.0, CA	Tallinn, Estonia
Seattle, WA	Timisoara, Romania
St. Louis, MO	Toulouse, France
St. Paul, MN	Venice, Italy
Tampa, FL	Brussels, Belgium
Topeka, KS	Vienna, Austria
Tulsa, OK	Vilnius, Lithuania
West Michigan	Warsaw, Poland
Canada	Zurich, Switzerland
Edmonton, AB
Hamilton, ON
New Brunswick, NB
Montreal, QC
Toronto, ON
Vancouver, BC
Waterloo, ON