Startup Weekend: Wellington

Friday, November 25 - 27, 2016

Event starts at 5:00 pm

Massey University
Wellington, New Zealand

Startup Weekend Environment is here! Bring your ideas on how to improve the environment along to Startup Weekend Wellington!

What can you do in 54 hours? Share ideas, meet a team, and be mentored by the industry's finest at Startup Weekend Wellington; where you’ll find the tools to design and build a new product, service or business in the space of a single, fast-paced weekend.We're bringing the first environment-themed Startup Weekend to Wellington! Bring your eco-tech, recycling, power-saving and planet-saving ideas to life at Startup Weekend.Tap into Wellington’s startup community for a high-energy weekend you won’t forget.Registrations open now. Sign up to startup.

What is a Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend is where startup enthusiasts get together to form new businesses in a 54-hour marathon of inspiration, perspiration, collaboration, and fun!

Who should come to a Startup Weekend?

Anyone! All levels of experience and skill are welcome to join us on this intense, marvellous ride.There are four ticket types for this Startup Weekend - the three usual ones:

- "Developer" tickets for the people who can do clever things with code and technology.
- "Designer" tickets for those who can make things and experiences beautiful.
- "Non-technical" tickets for those who can bring a business alive through business models, marketing, or other entrepreneurial voodoo.
and a special fourth category:
- "Environment" for those people who work to make our environment better. You might be a policy-maker, recycler, social enterprise, energy-saver or planet saver, and we want you to come along!

Why do a Startup Weekend?

1. Learn how to startup a business through doing it instead of just reading about it.
2. Build your network by spending a weekend with Wellington’s doers and makers.
3. Meet potential co-founders, there’s no better way to find people you want to work with – Founders from three out of the six finalists at Webstock Startup Alley 2015 had been through a Startup Weekend.
4. Step outside of your comfort zone – Try your hand at something new.
5. Actually launch a business – Over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months.
6. Work on an idea that could actually help people.
7. Get face time with local tech and startup leaders who come along as coaches and judges.
8. Join a global community of over 45,000 Startup Weekend alumni, all on a mission to change the world.

Need no more convincing? Get tickets here.
Still not sure if it's for you? Read on.

How do Startup Weekends work?

Enthusiastic teams, amazing mentors, Lean Startup methodology are thrown together in a cool space with good food and great things happen.

No, but really how do they work?

The weekend will work something like this - On Friday night a bunch of people will turn up excited, and maybe a bit nervous because they don't know what the weekend has in store for them. There will be ice-breaker games and dinner, before the pitching begins. Everyone is encouraged to pitch (but you don't have to). If you do pitch you will have one minute (no more) to tell everyone what your idea is and convince people to join your team.Team forming will be an amazing whirling of people out of which around 10-15 teams emerge. Teams will find a place to set-up base and will spend the rest of Friday night forming a plan of attack. Some teams will get started straight-away, others will go home and be ready to start the next day.

Saturday will be about validation and building your product and business. Validation means getting out and talking to customers. You will find out if your idea is something people want, and if it's not what they want, how can you pivot your idea and solution to find a market. You'll keep on validating all weekend - who are your customers? How much will they pay? Do they like what you're building?  Are they willing to buy? You will be using these insights to build your product and your business model, which will be key ingredients for your pitch.

The pitch is what Sunday will be about. On Sunday by dinner time someone (or a few someones) from your team will be doing a 5 minute presentation which tells the judges about your business - what you've built, who you intend to sell to, and what you plan to do next. The best teams win prizes, and everyone will eat, drink and be merry and go home buzzing from the experience.

What happens after Startup Weekend?

Where you go from there is up to you. Notable startups that were born at Startup Weekends in NZ are: Banqer, TranscribeMe, Twingl, Orientation Aotearoa and many more. But the real value you'll get from the weekend are taking an idea through to execution in 54 hours using Lean tactics, and working closely under high pressure with the best startup  people Wellington has to offer.

So who is it for again?

Whether you just want to find out what the world of startups is like in a fun environment, you're a developer or designer looking for the next big thing, or you are an entrepreneur looking for a team to turn your idea into reality, Startup Weekend is a fantastic way to test your own abilities and meet great people along the way.