Startup Weekend returns to Kansas City in June
April 18, 2017 | Bobby Burch
People often ruminate for years on a startup idea, calculating risk, analyzing a market and perfecting a pitch.
With Startup Weekend, that course of contemplative construction is distilled into 48 hours of ideation, iteration and presentation. And after a year hiatus, the event is returning to Kansas City for wild weekend of founding fury.
Startup Weekend is set for June 9 – 11 at the yet-to-be announced Techstars Kansas City offices. Locally, past winners of Startup Weekend have included 1 Minute Candidate, LoopLogiq, Zaarly and others.
We spoke with Startup Weekend organizer John Coler about the event, its needs and tips for teams.
What is startup weekend?
Startup Weekend is a 48-hour event for developers, designers and entrepreneurially-minded people to get together and create a startup over the course of a weekend. We provide resources via facilitators and mentors to assist teams and they bring expertise from various industries in the Kansas City community.
What kind of people are needed?
We’re open to anyone that has that entrepreneurial drive. We want to do our best to get developers and designers to attend. We need to build things and that’s who we’re hoping for this time around. … We need more developer and design talent. We can get that form startup community and from corporate employees looking to make that entrepreneurial jump.
What types of teams perform well?
It varies. You need a team from a variety of categories, developers, designers and non-technical talent. They need to experiment over the weekend, make prototypes and do customer validation. The teams that typically perform the best are the ones that can get a paying customer over the course of a weekend. I really think anyone can be successful as long as they follow guidelines from the judges.
Any advice for teams?
Come in well rested. It’s a long weekend. Put out feelers on who will be attending. … Do some reading up on lean startup methodology and other resources to understand that. Surf online to see what’s been done before in other Startup Weekends and what’s worked for them. If you’re coming in with a particular idea, do research on what’s out there.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Meet Project UK, an accelerator helping entrepreneurs from underserved KC communities
Project UK founder Quest Taylor was ecstatic Tuesday when he received news his accelerator earned funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. “It was a stamp of approval for the organization,” Taylor said of the accelerator, which was founded in early 2017. “I was not expecting to receive the grant. We really had to prove…
ArtsKC launches new online guide to arts, cultural events
ArtsKC is offering residents in the region a new digital resource that hopes to grow engagement at area arts and cultural events. On Friday, the regional nonprofit organization launched ArtsKCGo.com, an online guide that features information on art, music, theater, dance, film, festivals and other cultural events in the area. Already with hundreds of events…
Hundreds of jobs, millions in payroll, Digital Sandbox details impact
Business incubator Digital Sandbox KC reported Wednesday its substantial effect on growing the area economy through its funding and mentorship of early-stage firms. Since its launch in 2013, Digital Sandbox has funded 85 projects, helping to create dozens of new products from startups. That’s resulted in hundreds of new jobs and million of dollars in…
Career initiative Hire KC Youth to expand metro-wide after $55K grant
Expanding from city hall to include the entire metro, Kansas City Mayor Sly James’ Hire KC Youth program will launch a summer pilot in June, aiming to cultivate more work-ready young people. In collaboration with the KC Social Innovation Center and Full Employment Council, Hire KC Youth is branching out of the confines of city…