Recently I had the pleasure of serving as a mentor for participants of Startup Weekend DC, the purpose  of which is to give anyone who is interested an opportunity to have a “startup” experience in a single weekend. Some people come with an idea, others develop one over the course of the weekend, but the point is to build a business model and pitch it with your team for prizes and feedback.

startup-weekend

Here are some of the things I learned:

  • It’s all about giving back: Startup Weekend DC is organized and run by a dedicated group of volunteers business owners such as Monica Kang, founder of Innovators Box, and Steven Rodriguez founder of Seugo. Some work full-time, like Lindsey Goetschius, but they love the startup community and tirelessly support entrepreneurs in their journey. The mentors, coaches and judges also volunteer their time. There is an incredible amount of experience and perspective they generously share with all of the teams.
  • It’s not just tech. The three teams I worked with were:  Unbound Art, an original art rental company; INTERROView, a website to help people practice and perfect their presentations; and Coffee & Bike Fix, a brick and mortar to support the biking community in DC.
  • It’s inclusive. The weekend brings together a community of people of all ages and backgrounds at different stages in life and career. For the first time, this Startup Weekend included three teams of deaf students from Gallaudet University who came with some great business ideas.
  • There’s something in it for everyone. As a mentor, I really enjoyed the challenge of having to listen closely to my teams’ ideas, making sure they were covering the basics of startup best practice (like customer discovery) and providing relevant and constructive feedback and questions to help move their idea forward. All in 30 minutes! The best part is that I had a lot of fun and was very inspired by the ideas, the participants’ willingness to listen to feedback, and the positive energy of those involved.

unbound-art

Next time I’ll be sure to be present at the final pitches. Unfortunately, this time I missed out on the fact that one of the teams I mentored won first place and another won third!  Congratulations Unbound Art for your first place win and INTERRORView on your third place win! Can’t wait to see what the future brings!

** Photo credit goes to Monica Kang of Innovators Box! Thanks so much!