After slumbering for almost 1 ½ years,and thanks to a new volunteer organizing team full of hustle, focus and a get s**t done attitude, Vancouver will soon be treated to another edition of Startup Weekend. It’s always a dynamic 54 hours where everyone involved is able to feed off the energy of an organization that’s making a global impact. Startup Weekend can highlight having staged 1800 past events in 120 countries around the world so far this year.
Friday evening (November 14th) every one of the estimated 125 attendee is welcome to pitch their idea. With a diverse gathering of developers, designers, marketers, product managers, and startup enthusiasts alike the best ideas will be chosen by the crowd, 12-15 teams will form, build products, and potentially launch startup!
By Sunday night one team may become another Startup Weekend Vancouver success like past winners, MyBestHelper emerging from the 2011 event and Routific in July 2012. These weekends happen because of a community of people who care, give back, and want to foster the continuing growth of Vancouver’s entrepreneurial spirit.
There’s no discounting the effort made by the volunteers who have spent almost 5 months organizing this event. Asked, Why you’re doing this? Organizer Sean Kennedy shared
“Vancouver has an amazing startup community with tons of amazing people. However, there seems to still be something missing where the community functions as separate silos than as a collaborative whole. We have a vision of where our community can go and we hope to be part of the collaborative foundation that pushes our startup city to the next level!”
It’s getting mentors sharing their time and experience throughout the weekend and having someone like Meredith Powell Co-Founder, The Next Big Thing Foundation behind the event that makes a difference. Powell knows that “events like Startup Weekend are vital to promoting a thriving innovation ecosystem in our city. As an experienced founder myself, I’m passionate about inspiring entrepreneurs to create their own dream startups.”
“Startup Weekend is an important way for entrepreneurs to try new ideas, find co-founders, and really push the boundaries of being a lean startup. It’s important we support Startup Weekends to give these opportunities a shot.” added judge and Spring.is co-founder and partner Keith Ippel.
For someone flirting with entrepreneurial visions having someone like Vanedge Capital Partner Amy Rae judging adds significant value to the weekend as well. For Rae, “startup Weekend is essential to keep our technology community connected on a large scale. There are so many new companies and new developments within Vancouver, we need to check in and come together to see what is going on in the city. Its a place to inspire and be inspired by each other.”
Kennedy answered, why does this event matters to the Vancouver community? telling me,
“I think Startup Weekend is a key to the growth of startups in Vancouver. Can you start a company without ever attending? Sure. However, for many who don’t know where to start, Startup Weekend is an amazing way to get into the startup scene, learn and see what startup life is like, and gain valuable skills, experience, inspiration, and resources along the way. With such a strong push for tech and entrepreneurship in Vancouver, we see ourselves as an educational tool to give entrepreneurs the skills, experience, and resources they need to succeed in their future.”
There are just a handful of tickets left. While you might not found the next big thing, it’s a chance to be part of an exceptional collective learning experience. As well, there’s great prizes up for grabs and the chance to enter and be part of the Global Startup Battle against other teams from around the world competing that same weekend. Check out the Global Startup Battle website.