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
Solar-powered wearable Eclipse Rx puts sundown on skin cancer exposure
A doctor’s startup, Eclipse Rx, hopes to make skin cancer history. The Kansas City-based company, plans to release a solar-powered, sun-monitoring wearable this summer that will provide users with information about the level of sun they are receiving and how to prevent injury. The wearable communicates with a phone that will send alerts and information,…
IXKC: Racial bias conversation puts white faces in an awkward spot — the minority
Editor’s note: Check out photos from this event below the story. White people have to understand that they’ll never understand, said Lora McDonald. “White people only have to be ‘white’ when they’re in a room with other races. When they aren’t, they get to be individuals, not just a monolithic group,” she told a diverse…
Dimensional Innovations scores with massive Target Center design overhaul
Amid the hustle of a Minnesota Timberwolves game, fans peer through a glass floor at passersby in a lobby below. Looking up, a giant, neon-colored basketball sculpture looms overhead. It’s a moment created for curiosity and connection — designed by Overland Park’s Dimensional Innovations. Extending through multiple floors of the four-story Target Center in Minneapolis,…
SafetyCulture raises $45.5M Series C funding round
SafetyCulture, an Australia-based firm whose North American headquarters is located in Kansas City, announced a huge funding round Monday to advance its tech platform focused on workplace safety. The tech firm raised a $45.5 million Series C round led by New York investment firm Tiger Global Management. Other investors include previous backers, including Blackbird Ventures,…