This is a guest post by Startup Weekend Toronto organizer Chris Eben.
Let’s build some more startups in Toronto! According to StartupIndex, the GTA has 325 startups – by September 26, we might be able create 10 new startups in Toronto.
Startup Weekend, a 54 hour event in which teams go from idea to launch to pitch in a weekend, comes to Toronto September 24-26 at Ryerson University through StartMeUp Ryerson. Check it out here and get registered while tickets are still available.
The only way to determine whether entrepreneurship is for you is by actually going for it, and Startup Weekend gives you that opportunity. Going from idea to pitch requires working on every facet of entrepreneurship – researching a market, articulating the unique value proposition, competitive advantages, user acquisition strategy, business model, building the prototype, and more. You will work on and learn all the critical things you should be thinking about when starting a company and get practical experience.
After the weekend, you can continue working on your project making it your path to entrepreneurship, or you can take what you learned during the weekend and apply it to your next venture. Over 36% of Startup Weekend companies are still alive after 3 months, and over 10% of companies go on to produce revenue or get seed funding.
Startup Weekend is a great way to network with other passionate entrepreneurs and find potential co-founders. During Startup Weekend, you will not only meet some talented individuals, you will get to see how they work, helping you evaluate the potential for long term fit. Interaction and exchange of ideas between different teams is common which means your networking opportunities are not limited to your immediate team.
Every Startup Weekend participant walks away learning a lot about startups and making some valuable connections. There is a great line up of speakers:
- Mike McDerment, CEO of FreshBooks
- Mark Ruddock, former CEO of Viigo (bought by RIM)
- James Lanthier, COO of Mood Media
- Sarah Prevette, CEO of Sprouter
- Tim Smith, CEO of GridCentric
- April Dunford founder of Rocket Launch Marketing
- Leila Boujnane, founder and CEO of Idee Inc.
They, along with a growing list of other experienced folks from the local community will be involved as mentors and judges to help teams during their weekend journey and provide constructive feedback. Attendees will take away valuable lessons to be applied to their current projects and anything they do in the future.
While Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization, there is a cost to the event to cover expenses. StartupNorth readers may use discount code “StartupNorthSWTO” for a significant discount.
Follow @startupwkndTO and #swtoronto for news and updates leading up to the event.
Thanks for the post Jonas! We’re really looking forward to this event and are excited to see Toronto’s startup community signing up to participate.
For full disclosure, one of my co-organizers, Ahmed Badruddin, founder of Simpleafy, wrote the bulk of this article.
Hope to see as many of you as possible at Startup Weekend!
**UPDATE** The Ryerson Angel Network (RAN) has just announced that they are awarding the winner of Startup Weekend with $500! nnCheck out this blog post outlining the details -> http://toronto.startupweekend.org/2010/09/02/may-the-best-and-fastest-startup-win/ nnCome out for the weekend! Learn, teach and build your own startup in 54 hours with a chance to win $500. It’s going to be one awesome weekend! #swtoronto
**UPDATE** The Ryerson Angel Network (RAN) has just announced that they are awarding the winner of Startup Weekend with $500!
Check out this blog post outlining the details -> http://toronto.startupweekend.org/2010/09/02/may-the-best-and-fastest-startup-win/
Come out for the weekend! Learn, teach and build your own startup in 54 hours with a chance to win $500. It’s going to be one awesome weekend! #swtoronto
So this weekend is only for people looking to come up with a new business idea? Mine is much further along than that already, and is open to funding opportunities. Awesome initiative!
So this weekend is only for people looking to come up with a new business idea? Mine is much further along than that already, and is open to funding opportunities. Awesome initiative!
I can’t make it but i’m hoping the talks will be recorded!
I can’t make it but i’m hoping the talks will be recorded!
Actually, you can really come out and work on anything you like. It’s also a great place to bring an existing project and find new people and ideas to help move it along. Of course there is a level visibility that can be gained at an event like this through the sponsors, speakers, mentors and judges who might find they’re interested in your project. At the same time, while everyone can pitch their idea to the entire group at the start, only the top 10 or so will be able to compete in the final presentations. I wish we could accommodate everyone but that would be impossible in this case.
So I wouldn’t preclude yourself from this type of event. It all depends on what you want to accomplish and what your needs are.
Hope you can make it out in some form or another!
@Jordy Kosky – we’re actually thinking of recording + streaming the talks!nnFor anyone who can’t make it but wants to tune in for one of the sessions they can; we’re figuring out if we can use a system so that people who tune in can ask questions to the speakers/mentors and have them answered as well. connect with me on twitter – @soravanahalli and i’ll give you the info as we finalize it!
@Jordy Kosky – we’re actually thinking of recording + streaming the talks!
For anyone who can’t make it but wants to tune in for one of the sessions they can; we’re figuring out if we can use a system so that people who tune in can ask questions to the speakers/mentors and have them answered as well. connect with me on twitter – @soravanahalli and i’ll give you the info as we finalize it!
@Jeremy Campbell
It’s a really good that you brought this up!
Yes the idea here is to create X amount of startups in 54 hours (hopefully 10) but it isn’t just for people who have ideas!
We’re working super hard to getting as many VC, Angel and Investment firms out so that we can help everybody who’s deeper into their development than the ‘seed’ platform we’re providing. You’ll be getting more news on this as we get closer to the dates!
Ultimately we want to help everyone! So if you’ve got an idea that’s poised for funding, I’d suggest you come out because chances are you’ll get the opportunity to network with some leading investors and VC’s that want to support you as much as you’d like them to!
Interesting.
It looks like the format has changed from the first Startup Weekend Toronto.
I hope this one goes off a little smoother.
I can’t seem to see anything on the business organization of new startups or how one is determined… does anyone have a link?
It’s important to note that the Startup Weekend organization has changed since the early days. Startup Weekend is now a not-for-profit organization and has no rights or interests in any of the startups formed during any Startup Weekend event. Incorporation, share allocation, etc are completely up to the teams that form over the weekend and are not typically the focus of the event. Rather, teams look to build something interesting and if they do well and have some momentum to continue, the legal details get worked out after the weekend and only amongst the team.
While I wasn’t at the first Startup Weekend in Toronto back in 2007, I do know that it was a very early version of this type of event and there were some issues regarding ownership and shares. This dynamic has long since been stripped out of the Startup Weekend concept.
Hope that helps clarify somewhat and hope to see you out at the event.
Chris