Five lessons learned from Start-Up Weekend(s)
Ocean Cheung
Empowering teams to deliver exceptional digital experiences @Liquid Interactive | Startup Enthusiast | Intled Supporter
No matter if you wanna have a taste of running a startup but don’t know how to start, or you have a crazy idea in mind but haven’t even thought about execution - Startup Weekend is for you!
Startup Weekend is a three-day entrepreneurial activity pushing you to meet people, brainstorm ideas, define problems, validate solutions, brainstorm ideas, define problems, validate solutions… (you probably see the pattern here), work with others, pitch and have fun!
What to expect over the weekend?
Friday
Pitch-fire! You have around a minute to do an elevator pitch to get people interested in your idea - just kinda like your Tinder profile :)
Recommended pitch’s format:
- Who are you and what is your background? (5-10 secs)
- What is the problem that you wanna solve? Or, begin with a story (~15 secs)
- Explain the product and how it solves the problem (~15 secs)
- Who do you need on your team (a developer, marketing, designer?) (5-10 secs)
- Finally, make up a name for your startup
You don’t have to bring an idea to a Start-Up Weekend, but if you have ideas in mind, pitch it!
After that, you will be voting for your favourite teams. Even if your idea/your favourite idea isn’t selected, you can still recruit people/ join a team to get enough members. You will definitely have a fantastic time, be it as a participant or leader of a team!
Once the team is formed, you will be working on that idea over the weekend.
“Startup Weekend is not about the ideas but the team! ”
You are more likely to win if you are in a diverse team, meaning different skill sets, age group, gender, nationality, cultural background, etc. People with different life-experiences will lead to different perspectives and better outcomes. Before you go to bed, think about your strengths and what value you can bring to the team.
Wanna win a startup weekend? Try to make sales in the next two days!
Saturday
Basically, it is a whole day for team building. Before you start working, make sure you are aware of the free resources (e.g., free website domains, prototype tools or cloud service, etc.).
From my experience, it is good to spend more time on the Business Model Canvas on Saturday morning.
- Business Model Canvas: Kinda like an executive summary of a business plan. It virtualises the customer segment, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenues stream, key actives, key resources, key partners and cost structure of a business.
Understand the judging criteria and always reference it. The criteria should be closely related to the Business Model Canvas e.g., validation, execution, business model and sustainability.
“When your opinions are different from others, don’t just stick with yours. Be patient, listen, reflect and discuss it collaboratively.”
Start doing market validation as early as possible. Find potential users & customers and ask questions. It is no harm to post your survey forms on your social media. Also, don’t be shy to do market research on the street if needed!
There should be a mentoring session in the afternoon. Remember, your mentor isn’t an expert on everything. Don’t change the whole idea because of the feedback from a mentor. Your team has come up with the idea for a reason. Thus, take the advice and always go back to the business model canvas and judging criteria.
“If you don’t have the prototype by the end of the day, no worries. It is worth to get the market validation right.”
Sunday
It is time to put all the pieces together and prepare your presentation.
The pitch and slides (with the prototype) summarise your work and effort you have put in during the weekend. Check out Guy Kawasaki’s blog post The only 10 slides you’ll need in your pitch to get ready your pitch.
For some teams, “panic time” means the two hours before the pitches start. It is alright if you are not ready. Pitch what you have.
“Remember, Startup Weekend is not about what you have done, but about what you have learnt.”
The time for change is NOW!
We are experiencing immense cultural, demographic, political and technological change and there are unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the taking. The future belongs to those who embrace innovation and complexity and are courageous in taking action – the NextGen.
Build the entrepreneurial skills you need to make your mark on the future at Startup Weekend NextGen, 13 – 15 March 2020.
Register ?? https://bit.ly/swnextgen
If you are looking for $10 off discount, email me at [email protected]! (It can be applied with the student discount)
Other Start-Up Weekends happening in QLD
Founder | No-Code Maker
5 年Startup Weekends are a great reminder to build lean and validate from the beginning. Great post!