Startup Weekend

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

Startup Weekend is excited to partner with midVenturesLAUNCH, the largest startup conference in the Midwest. The winning team from Startup Weekend Omaha will receive an exclusive invitation to join either the COMPETE track or mVDEMO area at midVenturesLAUNCH happening on September 27-28 in Chicago.

We think this is a pretty big deal, so here’s more information about the conference:

midVenturesLAUNCH is the Midwest’s largest startup and innovation conference, showcasing the newest startup companies in web, mobile, cleantech/greentech and consumer products.  We are assembling over 150+ new companies in three tracks: COMPETE, a startup competition with over $100,000 in cash and prizes; mVDEMO, an area for early-stage startups to gain exposure; and LAUNCH, where later-stage VC- or angel-backed startups and established brands will launch new, innovative products and services from 2010 on our main stage.  Featuring key panelists and speakers from the top of the industry, midVenturesLAUNCH is the conference for technology innovators, offering a unique opportunity to seek funding, meet entrepreneurs, investors, media, developers, designers and leaders, and watch new ideas come to life.  All in one space.

COMPETE
The startups selected to be part of COMPETE will be judged during the conference by ourexpert panel, which includes founders of Groupon, OpenTable, OKCupid, TheNextWeb and prominent venture capitalists.  The top 5 COMPETE startups will be given 3 minutes on stage to pitch their company in front of over 3,000 attendees, and a chance to win $100,000 in cash and prizes from our sponsors.  It’s free to apply to COMPETE and free to participate.  To be eligible, a company should be less than 3 years old and have less than $2 million in funding.  If selected, your company will be given a 6′ table, wi-fi, logo placement in our marketing materials and website, and inclusion in our conference program and mobile app.  This exposure alone will garner your company over 2,000,000 impressions via our media partnerships and network.

LAUNCH
For later-stage startups and established companies, we have the LAUNCH track.  We are accepting 25 companies with a market-ready product or service that has launched (or your company wishes to launch on our main stage) in 2010.  Qualifying applicants in LAUNCH will pay $2,500 for 3 minutes of stage time during the conference, a 6′ table, wi-fi, logo placement in our marketing materials and website, and inclusion in our conference program and mobile app.

mVDEMO Area
Our mVDEMO Area is open any early-stage startup (again, companies less than 3 years old and with less than $2 million in funding).  Your company will receive amazing exposure to the conference audience with a 24″ bar-height table, wi-fi, and inclusion in our conference program and mobile app (if signed up by Sept. 1, 2010).  One “people’s choice” company will be considered by the expert panel for inclusion in the Top 5 COMPETE startups.  Cost for a mVDEMO Area table is $750 and spots are available first come, first serve.

Applications for COMPETE and LAUNCH are due by Sept. 1.  mVDEMO spots are available until sold out.  Please visit midventureslaunch.com or email us at launch@midventures.com.

Whether you’re just getting ready to launch, already kicking ass, or just want to do a little networking, this conference has something for you.

Posted by coreyspitzer

As we learned earlier this year, planning a Startup Weekend in a city that has never had one before is challenging. At the time, finding a venue that would work and that we could afford with the money from sponsors and ticket sales while still having enough for food, table and chair rental, etc. was difficult and stressful. Luckily, we were saved by What Cheer who donated their space in the Mastercraft Building for the weekend and for that we cannot thank them enough.

For the next Startup Weekend Omaha, not only has What Cheer offered up their space again, but other Mastercraft tenants CAMP and Secret Penguin have joined them! And we cannot thank them enough.

So register now and join us September 10-12 at the Mastercraft Building at 1111 North 13th Street.

Posted by coreyspitzer

Running the weekend of September 10-12, Startup Weekend Omaha 2 will be capping off Omaha Creative Week so get your pitches ready. More details will be made available as they come so stay tuned.

In the meantime, check out the photos from the first event in March and the local news coverage from KETV and WOWT.

Posted by coreyspitzer

Last week at the monthly Omaha Chamber of Commerce entrepreneur group “Cornstalks” meeting, four of the Startup Weekend Omaha teams attended to give updates and feedback on the event.

All the teams that attended are still going strong:

Underground Omaha is still in the works and the site is actually broadcasting a song as I write this with a handful of viewers watching.

The Daily Buzz Index team is thinking up new ways to move forward and refining their algorithms for analyzing the news.

Confurrent is as impressive as always and it sounds like customers are on the way. In fact, we should be seeing a Confurrent feed wall at BIGOmaha next week!

Finally, Sole Provider is having many successes in networking with other nonprofits around the country and is set up to deliver their first batches of shoes to kids in need very soon.

There was a lot of good feedback on the event. Above all, I kept hearing from everyone how exciting it was that they could meet and collaborate with so many new people in one weekend. It sounds like most everyone who attended were inspired in some way and created some long-lasting connections. In general I think everyone liked the teamwork and had a lot of fun. Also, as Tim Kephart pointed out, there was a pretty diverse crowd of attendees; it wasn’t just the usual suspects that run around in the Omaha entrepreneur/creative circles.

Others commented on how Startup Weekend was a chance to really get out there and do something instead of just talking about big ideas. There was a lot of learning and trying new things. Overall, it sounded like everyone thought it was a good experience and they took away a lot from it.

There were also some comments and suggestions that we’ll keep in mind for to make the next Startup Weekend (coming soon!) even better.

• It was suggested that we coordinate with the venue better to allow people to stay all night for marathon sessions.
• Some thought that having speakers taking up valuable work time wasn’t a good thing; instead of having speakers, we should bring in lawyers, successful entrepreneurs, and other advisors for a few hours and allow teams or individuals time with them for one-on-one conversations.
• A few teams were missing some skills and there needed to be more attendees (check back later on how you can help with this one).

Posted by coreyspitzer

Cashing in on the $2,100 prize money, the GiftBright team took an idea that only existed in Alex Gates‘ head and turned it into a real business in just one weekend!

Congratulations to all the GiftBright team members and a very special thank you to all the local supporters who donated to the prize pool, whether it was $100 or $1,000. THIS is the Omaha (and regional) creative class at its finest.

Posted by coreyspitzer

Add a comment to this post and put your two cents in on your pick to win the $2,100 grand prize for the best startup at Startup Weekend Omaha 2010. Who will the panel of investors and successful entrepreneurs pick?

Posted by coreyspitzer

Tonight at 6 PM (Central), tune in to our live video stream of the event finale where each team will demo their product and pitch their startup to potential investors. While you’re waiting, check out Tim Kephart‘s informative and entertaining talk on startups, mistakes people make, and how to be a successful entrepreneur (NSFW language) here.

Many thanks to Matt Secoske and Dusty Davidson for doing all the video work.

Posted by coreyspitzer

With less than three hours until the finish, here’s where everyone’s at:

“We are currently adding blog rss feeds to the site, and cleaning up what we started yesterday, looking for our first performer to step up to the plate for presentation time as well.”

From the Confurrent.com team: “Refining the user interface, our business plan and adding themes. Trying to tie everything together.”

No update.

“The Daily Buzz Index is coming together nicely…and with little time to spare. We have data and it’s being analyzing. The site HTML for our site is done and it’s being loaded to the host server as I write this. The presentation is also finished. We should be ready when the clock hits 00:00:00.”

“Sole Provider is shaping up! We have developed four signature programs of focus and are working hard to get our first draft of the www.soleprovider.org website up and running. We also received our first donations of shoes today! Thanks to Christine and our other Startup Weekend partners!!!”

CarMindr.com – “We’ve been reaching out to prospective clients and trying to determine market fit and needs. i.e. we have no code.”

Proalendar.com is now MyOfficeCalendar.com. “Created an add-on or market vertical which would increase revenue ~20% without adding much cost. Progress has exceeded expectations and excited to present finished product presentation. Name was created in the early morning hours and have had little sleep past couple nights”

Stupid Ways to Spend $100 – “We’re hard at work trying to beat Squarespace into submission. It doesn’t agree with our ways. Putting together our presentation now. Only 3 hours left, can’t talk.”

Posted by coreyspitzer

Checking in with our teams, here’s where everyone’s at:

No update from the underground-omaha.com team.

The Confurrent.com team has their backend written and is working on their presentation piece and the marketing website.

The GiftBright.com team is currently customizing Amazon searches to be specific to each profile, designing the website, thinking about presentation, and chewing gum. Prepare to be amazed…

The Daily Buzz is coming along nicely. Here’s what they have to report: “We have a logo and a mocked up site from Adam Lohman, owner of Play Creative Design, for the front end. The back is coming along, we have RSS feeds data populating tables and the algorithms that will analyze the data, written by Tadd Wood and Grant Stanley of Contemporary Analysis, almost done. We also created a Facebook Fan page and Twitter accounts for the Daily Buzz Index.”

No update from the soleprovider.ORG team.

CarMindr.com is evolving and has taken on a different direction. The team is following the lean startup model and has spent the majority of their time talking to potential customers and pivoting to meet market needs. It doesn’t look like it will have a launch by tomorrow night, but the team plans to keep working on the project beyond this event.

The proalendar.com team which consists of one Jason McDermott has done a lot of intensive research into possible revenue channels that could potentially supply 5 times as much revenue as previously thought. He has been refining his Sunday night pitch and has had his market research estimates confirmed for the target market.

Finally, the team that was going to make cross-platform communications software for multiplayer games has changed to another project: Stupid Ways to Spend $100. Their mission is to lighten the mood, encourage people to have more fun and celebrate just how much stupid stuff can be bought for only $100. Here’s what they had to say: “The economy is still in a downturn and people are … well downright crabby. We think its time to have fun again. Our very first assignment was a double cost special. We spent nearly $200 on a Nerf Gun arsenal to disrupt the flow at Startup Weekend for about 10 minutes. We (semi-) armed the crowd and set upon them with foam guns blazing. But we’re serious business as well. We’ve already setup our domain at StupidWays.com and hosted our site at Squarespace. We’ve locked up our YouTube, Twitter, Google & Facebook accounts and are investigating monetization methods used by other humor sites. We’ve still got some video editing and site creation work to do before the weekend is up, but we’re making good progress.”