Start it up...

This post is brought you by The Rolling Stones. LOL

My nonprofit may get off the ground sooner than expected. It just depends on how my weekend goes in Startup Weekend Chandler. I went to the Overview and Team Building meeting last night to see what it was all about:

Over the course of the evening, we will cover the format of the weekend and participant expectations. Additionally, we will cover some startup basics to help you prepare. Lastly, there will be time to bring your ideas to mentors to receive some feedback before the weekend.

I was intrigued about the concept:

Startup Weekends are weekend-long, hands-on experiences where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if startup ideas are viable. On average, half of Startup Weekend’s attendees have technical backgrounds, the other half have business backgrounds.

Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts.
Why attend a Startup Weekend event?

Startup Weekend Chandler involves the Overview and Team Building Meeting, a Speed Team Networking night on June 9th:

Speed Team Networking provides an opportunity for registered participants to get to know each other before the weekend, encouraging positive matches that will provide more work time over Startup Weekend.

A Startup 101 Workshop:

Startup 101 takes place the Friday of Startup Weekend Chandler from 2:00-5:00pm. This intensive 3-hour workshop provides the basics of building a business, from choosing a team to market research and completing Version 1.0 of your product.

*Only registered Startup Weekend Participants can attend Startup 101.

Agenda:
2:00-2:45pm Team
2:45-3:45pm Product
3:45-5:00pm Execution

Team (Panel)

A team should be made up of people with different skills and experiences. A team should not be all developers or all idea people. You need someone to plan, someone to execute, and someone to sell. Team members can take on multiple roles, but all critical roles should be represented. This panel will discuss what a team should look like in the context of multiple business models.

What does a team look like?
Responsibilities
Conflict Resolution

Product

Your vision may be amazing, but when you get real about it, it may not be reasonable for a 60-day launch. This section focuses on how to define your product for the highest possibility for success and deliver the highest value in your first release.

Market Research and Competitor Evaluation
Creating the simplest effective product

Execution

Ideas are worth nothing without execution. How you execute is the difference between success and failure more than anything else. In this section we will explore best practices in focusing your energy on the highest yielding activities.

Decision making: How do you decide what to do when you encounter a fork in the road?
Version 1: You can’t have every bell and whistle. Learn to evaluate what you need to launch, versus what can come later.
Last 10%: Your first release won’t be a polished gem. In this phase, you must set the foundations for growth.

The actual event that occurs the weekend of June 24th-26th, 2011 and ending up with the possibility of moving forward in the Roadmap to Launch:

During product presentations on Sunday night of Startup Weekend Chandler, companies will state whether they will be participating in the Roadmap to Launch challenge, culminating in Launch Weekend in August 2011.


The Roadmap includes mentoring assignments, social events around entrepreneurship, workshops and opportunities to test with potential consumers and practice pitching.

Sample Roadmap to Launch:

June 26 – Present product at Startup Weekend Chandler

July 4-8 – Mentoring Round 1

July 18-22 – Mentoring Round 2

July 20 – Chandler Startup Drinks with local entrepreneurs

July 27 – User testing event at Hacknight

July 28-29 – Private Pitch with roundtable of mentors

August 1-5 – Mentoring Round 3

August 15-19 – Mentoring Round 4

August 17 – User testing event at Hacknight

August 27-28 [Tentative] – Launch Weekend & Extreme Pitch
*This event will be open to all valley entrepreneurs and startups, with Startup Weekend Chandler companies being featured.

It's going to be held at this really cool co-working space called Gangplank and only going to cost me $25 (student rate). I'm not sure what to expect. I know I can't really start a nonprofit without filling out the proper paperwork and finding board members, but I'll make connections and maybe find someone---or a group of someones--who feel the way I do about my project. I'll definitely be posting about my experience.