About
How do I get in touch?
Contact Daniel Gaviria at ggdaniel@gmail.com.
What is Startup Weekend?
Startup Weekend is an intense event bringing brilliant tech minds together to create companies, projects and great tech communities!
What is the weekend like?
The weekend is fun, mentally simulating and always profitable (2 of those are true)! It starts Friday at 6pm and finishes up Sunday at 9pm, the hours in between are up to the community. Startup Weekend gets everyone in the same room, sometimes clothes and always feeds. What is next is really up to the people that show up, it is your drive and passion that will lead the weekend.
What is the agenda?
Have you ever worked at a startup? Startup Weekends don’t really have agendas, just general times when the building is open for everyone to meet and work. If you are an agenda driven person, Startup Weekend might not be for you. You make the agenda based on the people, ideas and mood.
Is the expectation to launch a startup in one weekend?
That is generally the goal but launching and incorporating are totally up to the teams that are put together at the start of the event. Click here to see previous companies.
What do Attendees get?
Startup Weekend provides an unprecedented level of networking, team building, learning, and life changes for its attendees and their communities. Don’t forget that there will be 6-7 meals and drinks provided. There is a reason that most attendees come back for every event – it’s just plain fun and provides amazing opportunities you can’t get anywhere else. Sometimes a company emerges, sometimes one doesn’t, but every time people leave with more experience, insight, knowledge, friends, and resources than they came with.
Are there multiple startups?
Yes. Depending on the number of attendees your number of projects will vary but typically 6-9 are formed in a given weekend. Click here to see previous companies.
How are details like legal, ownership, members etc handled?
The people working on the products will determine these issues during the weekend. Startup Weekend, LLC will not retain ownership of any company coming out of the weekend and does not issue any shares.
What happens once the weekend ends?
Above all, we hope that a strong community bond will form. Beyond that, it depends on the group. Past weekends have seen groups work beyond the weekend and continue to build and market their products. Click here to see previous companies.
Aren’t people concerned about someone running away with their idea?
Given the nature of the event, and the fact that it will be live twittered/blogged/streamed etc., trade secrets will be difficult to enforce. We suggest that if you have an idea that you don’t want taken, then don’t present them. If you’re worried about this feel free to reach out to us and talk about your concerns; we’ve dealt with this many times before.
Do You Sleep At the Event?
Yes. Definitely. Generally the hours are Friday from 6-10pm, Saturday from 9am-9pm and Sunday from 9am-6pm. If you have reasons to be away during the weekends, by all means feel free to do so (kids soccer game, dinner with the Prime Minister, etc).
Can I sponsor the Weekend?
Yes you can, in two ways. You can be an Atlanta Startup Weekend sponsor for one weekend or a national sponsor for all the weekends. If you are interested in sponsoring the Atlanta event please see our Sponsorship Page.
More Information on StartupWeekend LLC
Who Runs Startup Weekend?
Startup Weekend LLC is run by the community supporting entrepreneurship. Every weekend has a facilitator that is approved by Startup Weekend, LLC.
Is Startup Weekend a Company?
Yes, Startup Weekend is a startup in its own. The company and trademark are used to make sure the quality of each Startup Weekend.
Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.
How did it Start?
One night at dinner, two entrepreneur friends Danny Newman and Stan James discussed how they missed collaborating on projects with others now they were working on bigger projects, later David Cohen and Joe Scharf pushed founder Andrew Hyde to take the concept into reality.
Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, ‘out of the box’ thinking (oh no, the buzzwords are attacking!), unique facilitation technique and letting the founders show what they can do. The program has already met with success in atlanta, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, atlanta, DC and more.
The participants that attend a Startup Weekend decide what they want to tackle over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is.
A typical weekend might go something like below, although most weekends find their own schedule that works best:
6pm Friday: Everyone gets together; figures out who else is there; what would be interesting to build.
7pm: Pitches start (if you have an idea for a product you pitch it to the group).
8pm: Teams start breaking off (generally about nine teams will form during the weekend, creating nine products or companies).
9pm: Hopefully teams have solidified their concept and created an elevator pitch (even a simple one) by now.
10pm: Break off to a bar or coffee shop to continue the discussion and attempt to paper prototype out their application.
9am Saturday: Crowds pour in; work starts on development.
12pm: Lunch.
3pm: More coding, business plan development, and a special guest (music, vc, sponsor etc).
6pm: Special guest drop-ins and pitches from the teams.
9pm: Gut check on the product; basic prototype building; group get-together for drinks and to talk about the products everyone is working on.
9am Sunday: The day’s work starts again.
Noon: Projects are being developed; live website with signup is possibly set up.
6pm: Sink or swim time for those looking for a weekend launch.
7pm: Presentations from each company; what worked, what didn’t, what could go better and contacts are exchange for those continuing in the future.
