Memphis Startup Weekend

Thanks to Jillian Patton, we have finished the t-shirts for Startup Weekend.  We’re excited to have a design that is uniquely Memphis.

Front of shirt:

Back of shirt:

We are pleased to announce that Red Bull has joined us a Silver Sponsor of Memphis Startup Weekend.  Thanks to Michael Vaughn, the regional marketing manager of Red Bull, for making this happen.

Not too long ago I read Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start. If you plan on attending Startup Weekend Memphis or simply have the entrepreneurial itch I highly recommend it. Kawasaki’s background is an evangelist for Apple and a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. The Art of the Start is a how-to for launching any type of business project. Chapters begins with smart ideas for getting started cover a variety of facets to consider, from writing a business plan, establishing partnerships and building your brand to identifying potential customers. Kawasaki covers the basics in an effectively casual tone. This book is an easy and pleasurable read. The one downside that I will warn you is that some of the advice in his book is somewhat generic such as starting your company’s name with a letter that comes early in the alphabet and tips for presentations to potential investors.

I picked it up at a branch of the Memphis Library, but it’s readily available at all the usual suspects. If you’re short on time, there are many quick outlines available online.

- Bob Hazlett

www.onehalfamazing.com

Joining the entertainement line-up for Memphis Startup Weekend is The Defective Agency.  They will start at 9pm on Friday May 30th when we crack open some Naked Lion Copper Flask beer and/or Red Bull (a sponsor we are about to announce).

We are happy to report that Flying Circle has joined Memphis Startup Weekend as a Platinum Level Sponsor.  Christian Biddle of Flying Circle made this happen and we are appreciative.

We are pleased to announce that Cadre5 has joined Memphis Startup Weekend as a Platinum level sponsor.  Special thanks to Ken Lowery at Cadre5 who saw the value and made this happen.

Hi all.

Is the plan for startup weekend to follow the traditional format (where all 60 or so participants try to deliver on a single concept) or the modified format used at the most recent Boulder, CO startup weekend where you instead have several smaller groups working on multiple startup concepts?

I think the latter approach makes more sense (http://boulder2.startupweekend.com/). As cool as the startup weekend idea sounds, to try to actually get that large of a group to first agree on a concept and then work efficiently on it is seems like an almost impossible task. However, I can totally see multiple smaller groups feeding off of each other and producing tangible results within that same time period. Especially if it is accepted that for some of the projects you’re only goal is to lay the foundation for the startup, and not necessarily produce a finished product by Monday.

Eric, has Andrew or startupweekend recommended/identified which format we should/will use?

thx!

…when it is novel, useful, timely, and cost-effective to develop, market, and distribute! It could be high-tech, but it doesn’t have to be.

I sure wish I had a piece of the action on Post-it notes. 

I’d like to start another string to foster ideas of a “KISS” (keep it smart and simple) company for our StartUp Weekend.

Here’s a commercial idea from my childhood. I don’t know if it exists anymore (I haven’t looked, but I sure need one now). It was a great garden tool–what I’ll call a ”Weed Stick.” A simple PVC tubular device that is about 3 feet long and 1.5 inches in diameter and holds weed-killer liquid that dispenses at a level of about 2 inches above the bottom in small discreet aliquots when a metal plunger tip is activated by pressing the stick tip against the ground (i.e., the dandelion or clump of crab grass).  The tube is filled at the top by removing a secure screw cap (it certainly wasn’t secure when I was a kid). The plunger tip at the bottom is spring-loaded and is gasket-sealed, so that liquid dispenses by gravity only when the plunger is pressed against the ground–sort of like a big spring-action squirting syringe. The tool was a disaster waiting to happen when I was a kid, some several many decades ago (probably why it disappeared from the marketplace in Canada). It could spill toxic weed killer just by laying it down (not to mention dropping) or squeezing the flexible tube reservoir–but that was because the design was poor. The concept is sound!

Does anyone else have some neat ideas they would like to throw on the table and possibly develop… I have dozens of them. I just thought I’d present the Weed Stick to get our creative juices flowing.

What say you? Any great novel ideas that you would like to toss forward?

Cheers,

Don

I thought that I would try to initiate some pre-game dialog…

Do we want to manufacture a widget that nobody else has thought of before–I have a few in mind, but I’ll hold my cards for now?

Do we wish to harness cutting-edge technology?

Or do we wish to be a “me-too,” only better, faster, stronger?

I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments.

Cheers,

Don

Here’s to you Eric (et al.)!

The StartUp Weekend is just what the doctor ordered to stir things up around here!

Cheers,

Don