Startup Weekend: Who, What, Where – You know why!
Weekend Forecast – slightly subject to change but here’s the sunny Miami Startup Weekend outlook!
5/20 Friday:
6:00pm – Registration starts (pizza served thanks to Power Pizza with Energy Drinks by FireDog Energy)
7:00pm – Kickoff & Speakers
Get inspired by Birame Sock’s successes in tech startups
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
5/21 Saturday:
9:00am – Breakfast & coffee by Offerdahl’s Café Grill (Doors open 24/7)
9:30am – Teams continue working. Mentors arrive and begin working with teams.
10:30am - Show me the Money: Financials with Dr. William Silverman @WRSilverman
12:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm - Patents, TM and ©, Oh My!: I.P. Issues with Michael Montgomery @Montgomery
1:45pm – Energy Break! provided by 5-Hour Energy
6:00pm – Dinner (Olé! Lime Fresh Mexican Grill build your own taco)
7:30pm – Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
12:00 midnight – Finished for the day. You may stay and work through the wee hours.
5/22 Sunday:
9:00am – Breakfast & coffee by Offerdahl’s Café Grill (Doors open 24/7)
11:00am – Build Buzz: Socialated How-To with Lucas Sommer & David Sinopoli @socialated
12:30pm – Lunch
1:30pm - Biz Strategy: Next Steps with Marco Scanu [meet him on LinkedIn]
3:00pm – Gut check. Start prepping for presentations
5:00pm – FINAL PRESENTATIONS
5:30pm – Dinner (Sushi Maki oriental buffet), Judging & Awards
7:30pm – Wrap-up
8:00pm – Go home [and Go Heat]! Keep building and stay in touch with your developments!
Venue info: Terremark (NAP of the Americas)
50 NE Ninth Street, Miami FL 33132
Parking is free and available on-site in the gated lot on NE 9th Street. Entrance to the Launch Pad is on Miami Ave between 8th & 9th Streets.
Startup Weekend is Back In Miami!
Startup Weekend isn’t just sweeping the nation, it’s sweeping the globe. Every weekend, cities all over the world are holding exciting and successful Startup Weekends. Checkout the Startup Weekend website to follow the action and be sure to read about the details of the organization and Miami’s local event.
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Top 5 Reasons You Need to Attend:
1. Food (local eats + mucho caffeine)
2. Awesome Attendees (i.e. network!)
3. Kick-Ass Speakers
4. Twilio hooks it up!
$50 credits for each team & $200 credits for the winning team
5. ODesk is a giver:
$100 credits for each team
(more…)
What happens at Startup Weekend?
Can you really define a “typical startup”? In that vein, can you really define a “typical Startup Weekend”? Probably [and hopefully] not, but it’s always good to have a rough idea of how the weekends tend to play out.
Note that times and actually just about everything is subject to change. This is just a rough idea.
May 20th: Friday Night
5:30-6pm: Doors Open.
Arrive, Register, Network, etc.
7pm: Kick-off.
The organizers and facilitator will introduce themselves, talk a little bit about Startup Weekend in general and introduce the sponsors.
7:15pm: Pitch.
Everyone who wants to has 1 minute to pitch their idea. The timer is strictly enforced. There are no limits on number of pitches…so you can pitch twice, once everyone is through the first round.
After the Pitches:
-Teams will naturally organize. If you like something you heard, go talk to the pitcher. If you pitched, try to mobilize a team. The final number of teams is up the group, though it’s important to try to cover roles on each: biz dev, designers, UI, developers, etc.
-Refine your concept and decide how you’ll attack things.
- Then, it’s go go go, until you decide to call it quits or pull the all-nighter.
May 21st: Saturday
8:30am: Good morning sunshines.
Facilities open (24-hour access available if you work through the night). Get there early as there will be breakfast and plenty of CAFFEINE.
-Saturday is a work day. Solidify ideas as early as possible and keep chuggin’.
11:30am: Formal-ish Checkin.
We’ll ask a rep from each team to meet with the organizers and facilitator to give an overview of what the team is doing, where they are and where they see themselves going.
12:30pm: Lunch.
7pm: Gut Check.
Basic prototyping and surrounding business development efforts (financial modeling, site, PR, marketing plan, etc) should be in order
Rest of your night: Keep working, grab a drink, or both.
May 22nd: Sunday
8:30am: Final Countdown.
Facilities open (24-hour access available if you work through the night). Get there early as there will be breakfast and plenty of CAFFEINE.
11:30am: Formal-ish Checkin.
We’ll ask a rep from each team to meet with the organizers and facilitator to give an overview of what the team is doing, where they are and where they see themselves going.
12:30pm: Lunch.
3pm: Finishing Touch.
Nearly sink-or-swim time for those looking for a weekend launch.
5:30pm: Presentations.
Nothing formal. Each team will share: What’s your idea? What worked? What didn’t? What could be better? More importantly… ARE YOU LAUNCHING?
8pm: Don’t have to go home but you gotta leave.
Closing events and teary-eyed good-byes.
Remember: This is a startup atmosphere. Just because a team forms Friday night around an idea doesn’t mean that team is intact Sunday or that the idea that was pitched is the business. Teams can form, break apart… rogue teams can mobilize. We’re just looking for great things Sunday!
