These events are fantastic for building a network of like-minded, aspiring startup entrepreneurs in your area. But not only will you meet people, you'll get to know them at the event because you'll be spending 54 hours in the same place together, working out the initial issues for your top startup. The folks on your team you'll likely bond with as a result of the shared effort, whether it's the next great startup or the basis for a "pivot" into a somewhat different idea.
Many people are curious about entrepreneurship, but the time and financial commitments can seem daunting. These events let you "try it on for size" to get a feel for the realities of starting a new company. Entrepreneurship is sometimes described as "the highest of highs and the lowest of lows." It's not for everyone, so why not take a startup for a test drive?
You know that feeling, that electricity when you're at an event where the room is packed full of startup entrepreneurs, surrounded by people building operating businesses? All those "doers" who are making things happen, building business models, writing code and discovering customers? Oh, you've never experienced that? Well, I really hadn't either until Startup Weekend Salt Lake City.
Up until now, it seemed like the only people I met at event after event were Accountants, Bankers and Lawyers. Every business at some point needs these services, but the tactical issues that arise around starting and operating a business are really only tangible to others who have either walked that road or are on it now. Nearly anyone who has done so realizes the benefits of opening up to this community far outweigh the potential downside. If you haven't figured it out by now, you'll soon realize execution is magnitudes of order more difficult than conceiving a new business.
Startup Weekend Salt Lake City had about 100 participants, and nearly 2/3rds of them were developers and designers. Another 80 or so "observers" made up of interested entrepreneurs, mentors and VCs came and went throughout the weekend. This concentration of "techies" is the fuel allowing rapid build of a minimum viable product" (MVP) that can be validated (or invalidated) on the business side by getting out of the building and talking to potential customers. Amazingly, 15 new companies or products came out of the 2 ½ day SLC event.
More importantly, these often underground operators were out in the open and collaborating with other like-minded entrepreneurs. This fledgling network has a high probability of jump-starting the community building in the Northern Utah startup ecosystem.
If you have a sense that your local startup ecosystem is stuck underground, hosting a Startup Weekend may be the spark you need to light a fire under the "doers" and get them connected.
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Tom Vollbrecht is an experienced executive in business strategy, finance and project execution. He is the entrepreneur in Residence at Miller Business Innovation Center. Find out more about Startup Incubator programs http://startup.mbrcslcc.com
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