Iterating Startup Weekend

The circumstances of our own weekend project are still officially under wraps and in the process of being resolved—slowly—but the day has finally arrived for the next installment of Startup Weekend, this time with a return to the place where it all started.

Andrew Hyde kicks off Startup Weekend 2.0 in Boulder, Colorado.

About 70 people begin pitching ideas for startup projects in bulk Friday night at the sixteenth Startup Weekend event since last July. Creator Andrew Hyde leveraged his experiences in the first fifteen weekends to iterate his concept. Changes for the 2.0 format—being tested under fire in SW’s return to Boulder, Colorado—include:

1. Multiple Projects
   Each weekend group is no longer limited to just one company. All equity decisions will be made at the event.
2. Build on a Project
   An existing company can recruit a few some brilliant tech minds to spend a few hours working to make their project stronger.
3. No Company Required
   Every project will be different, but there will be no requirement to incorporate a company.

In a post on the Boulder 2 blog, Michael Gruen reported that Andrew shared two primary reasons for the adjustments:

Reason #1: Who here can name three companies we’ve launched?

Reason #2: The SEC and Blue Sky Laws prohibit this many unaccredited investors from investing in a company

I’d like to think the reflection session the Bloomington founders had on our final day together, which generated a nice list of strengths and weaknesses of the format, factored into the decision.

In making these changes, founders are also looking at other ways to tinker with the format. Laura Fitton and Tara Anderson will be broadcasting portions of the weekend on Mediacasters.tv, connecting this small group of entrepreneurs with some investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and technologists not physically in the room. The first day show had some audio issues. Despite the tech hiccups, there were people following the pitch session, and input from chat rooms were being relayed to the registered attendees.

Andrew has also been looking to make some organizational changes. Tyler Willis was originally going to be the facilitator in Bloomington as Andrew took a break from his heavy travel schedule, but Founder Prime wound up in Indiana anyway. This week, he posted an open call for a CEO. If you are interested in running the show for the next year or so, look over the PDF document describing the position. I’m certain the rest of my life would get in the way of taking on those duties myself, but whoever does pick up the reins is in for a very satisfying adventure. My one experience with Startup Weekend has me itching for more, and many of the local connections made in City Hall in February are active more than a month after we met.

Until we are in a position to bring Event Herder into the visible spectrum, or Indianapolis gets the green light for it’s own event, I’ll scratch that itch by following the new process online.