Live from Startup Weekend DC
By Viget Labs
in General
Oct. 27, 2007 | 0 comments
By Brian Wynne Williams, CEO & Co-Founder,
in General
Oct. 27, 2007 | 0 comments
We’re in the middle of Startup Weekend DC, which we’re hosting here at Viget HQ in Falls Church. Here’s a relatively the last recorded live shot of the main room (teams are spread out in huddle rooms):
What’s Startup Weekend? Read the official about page here, or my earlier post here. In short:
Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of small business entrepreneurs to build a community and company in a weekend. The founders decide what to make as a team, and earn an equal share of stock in the developed business. Attendees are responsible for bringing the desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with a brand new business, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is
We had about 75 people show up last night to hear the pitches, debate the concepts, and select the one idea that we want to rally around and launch by Sunday night. This wasn’t an easy process. The group had pre-selected 3 concepts, but another 10 or so were pitched last night. In the end, 2 ideas had a lot of support, so the room was certainly divided. A simple vote settled it.
With the high-level concept selected, teams split out on a quest for clarity and focus, and for a while it seemed neither was in the cards. There were hints of mutiny and even the a group vote about 2 hours in to make sure everyone wanted to keep charging ahead (vs. falling back on idea #2). By the time the Lab cleared out around 1 am, spirits were high again and there was a general sense that we had a specific enough idea that we’d be able to get it done.
Today, we continue to have a great turnout. We also have a name and the start of a site.
The big idea?
Be a part of your community, help plan events, share important information, and meet the person next door.
For hour-by-hour coverage, head over to dc.startupweekend.com and catch Micah’s updates. You can also see the photos on flickr. At this moment the Lab is humming and lots of great work is being done. Stay tuned to see how it all wraps up.