What Is Startup Weekend?

What is Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend is a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, teams and communities. Come share ideas, form teams, and launch startups.

Startup Weekend Global Site

Past event…

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The Lifelong Learning Center


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Ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

The professional and personal challenges, the high and lows, the failures and the success?

Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.

The non-profit organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. From Mongolia to South Africa to London to Brazil, people around the globe are coming together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.

All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.

Whether entrepreneurs found companies, find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5, everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now for the best weekend of your life!

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups. The first Startup Weekend in Montana is happening in Missoula on January 18th, 2013!

At Startup Weekend Missoula, you will experience what it takes to launch a startup. The full process of pitching an idea, recruiting a team, managing a project, building a prototype, receiving market validation and presenting to a panel of judges.  Although the format is best suited for technology ideas, any idea that can be created in 54 hours is welcome.

Join us this January for Montana’s very first Startup Weekend.

2013 Startup Weekend Missoula Brochure

Startup Weekend Facilitator:

Sheikh Shuvo

Sheikh Shuvo, Regional Operations Manager

Sheikh Shuvo is on the Operations Team at Startup Weekend and manages events across MENA, Asia, and Australia.

Originally born in Bangladesh, Sheikh was raised in New York City. He graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Government, with a focus on political philosophy. He has worked in a wide range of industries ranging from real estate marketing, municipal government, outdoor education, and, most recently, in healthcare software.

He currently lives in Seattle, WA, and is an avid outdoorsman, cook, and travel enthusiast.

We would also like to recognize and thank our Venue partner, The Lifelong Learning Center!

The Lifelong Learning Center

Schedule

Friday

Jan 18
  • Registration Starts
  • Dinner & Networking
  • Welcome & Instructions
  • Keynote Speaker
  • Pitches Start
  • Attendees vote for the top ideas
  • Teams start forming and discussing ideas
  • Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Saturday

Jan 19
  • Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
  • Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
  • Lunch
  • Call for needs & skills
  • Coaches help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
  • Dinner
  • Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
  • Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Sunday

Jan 20
  • Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
  • Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)
  • Lunch
  • Coaches arrive… ASK QUESTIONS
  • Gut check. Start prepping for presentations
  • FINAL PRESENTATIONS
  • Judging & awards
  • Dinner
  • Wrapup
  • Go home!
Speakers

Greg Gianforte

Keynote   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Serial entrepreneur Greg Gianforte founded RightNow Technologies in Bozeman in 1997. The boostrapped company grew to more than 1,100 employees worldwide and more than $225 million in annual revenue. RightNow was the largest commercial employer in Bozeman and the only publically traded technology company headquartered in the state. He took RightNow public in 2004. In 2011, he sold RightNow to Oracle for over $1.8 billion.

RightNow was his fifth software startup. Over the course of founding these companies Mr. Gianforte developed his bootstrapping methodology, which allows entrepreneurs to start businesses with a minimum amount of money, ensure that their business model is viable and retain the lion’s share of equity in their ventures.

Mr. Gianforte earned his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering and M.S. degree in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1983.

Mr. Gianforte is involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors, through the Gianforte Family Foundation which he and his wife founded, including Bootstrap Montana, a micro-loan program designed to assist rural entrepreneurs with zero-interest loans in Montana and the expansion of ACE Scholarships into Montana which provide $2,000 per year scholarships to low and moderate income families in Montana to send their kids to private schools of their choice.

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Judges

Greg Gianforte

Founder, RightNow Technologies   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Serial entrepreneur Greg Gianforte founded RightNow Technologies in Bozeman in 1997. The boostrapped company grew to more than 1,100 employees worldwide and more than $225 million in annual revenue. RightNow was the largest commercial employer in Bozeman and the only publically traded technology company headquartered in the state. He took RightNow public in 2004. In 2011, he sold RightNow to Oracle for over $1.8 billion.

RightNow was his fifth software startup. Over the course of founding these companies Mr. Gianforte developed his bootstrapping methodology, which allows entrepreneurs to start businesses with a minimum amount of money, ensure that their business model is viable and retain the lion’s share of equity in their ventures.

Mr. Gianforte earned his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering and M.S. degree in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1983.

Mr. Gianforte is involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors, through the Gianforte Family Foundation which he and his wife founded, including Bootstrap Montana, a micro-loan program designed to assist rural entrepreneurs with zero-interest loans in Montana and the expansion of ACE Scholarships into Montana which provide $2,000 per year scholarships to low and moderate income families in Montana to send their kids to private schools of their choice.

Leon Liebman

VC, Beacon Angels   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Successful vc and private equity investor with substantial experience in a range of business areas.

Specialties: Four decade's experience with startups, early stage and growing businesses with an emphasis on content creation and value added software products and services development. Startup and functional management experience led to senior management and board level responsibilities.

Diane Smith

CEO & Founder, AmericanRural.org   |  LinkedInGoogle+

A business and social entrepreneur, Diane was the co-founder and CEO of a high growth, groundbreaking IPTV company in Northwest Montana. After a career spent in Washington DC as a corporate executive in the fast growing tech and wireless industries, Diane moved to Montana and discovered that the most interesting people live and work beyond the Beltway. She authored TheNewRural.Com to explore how technology has changed the opportunity equation in Rural America and co-founded American Rural, an organization dedicated to effective policies regarding entrepreneurship, technology and energy for rural and small town America.

Steven Sundheim

Co-Founder, Modwest, Inc.   |  LinkedInGoogle+

"Steven Sundheim co-founded Modwest, a web hosting company with thousands of customers across the globe, in 2000. He and his co-founder ran Modwest for 12 years and sold in 2012. Steven also co-founded Grupthink, a web-based community feedback platform. With Grupthink, he worked with research firms and consumer insights professionals for large and small companies, examining the roles of communities and online focus groups in market research. Steven specializes in UX, UI design, and web development, and has developed a broad range of entrepreneurial experience in both companies.

Steven is currently working with a startup and providing user experience design as a freelancer. He earned his B.A. in Geography from the University of Montana in 1999."

Chhe Taing

President, Keiretsu Forum Spokane/Inland Northwest Chapter   |  LinkedIn

Chhe Taing, serves as President of the Keiretsu Forum Spokane/Inland Northwest Chapter and as Managing Director for MindShare Resource Solutions. Prior to MindShare, he held prior positions with US Trust Bank of America Wealth Management Services and Bank of America Investments. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with minors in Finance, and Management Information Systems from Fairfield University in 1998. Mr. Taing is responsible for Strategic Development of MindShare’s Resource Groups: Investment Management, Corporate Finance, Business Development, Branding & Marketing, Business Operations,Information Technology, and Engineering. He leads the Investment Management Group which specializes in preliminary investment due diligence, connecting MindShare’s portfolio companies with funding opportunities and value added services.

Coaches

Keith Brown

CIO, National Flood Services, StoneRiver   |  LinkedIn

Accomplished and talented Senior Executive with extensive business and technology experience with background in operations, technology implementation, organizational development, project and financial management. Ability to manage large complex, geographically diverse programs and organizations. Adept at facilitating corporate success through effective alignment of people, functions, technology, and business operations. Excellent problem-solving skills.

Emmy Chuck

Partner, Quinn Capital LLC   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Emmy serves as Partner at Quinn Capital LLC, a private investment management firm based in Bozeman, MT. She is responsible for the firm's business development and client relations.

Prior to Quinn Capital, Emmy developed a successful career in technology sales and sales operations. While living in San Francisco, she spent five years at IBM where she was a top performer in software sales. This was in part due to her consultative and service-oriented approach with customers. During her tenure in Washington, D.C., Emmy was a leading member of international sales operations teams at MicroStrategy and B2eMarkets. In those roles, she was responsible for sales strategy, forecasting, and planning. Emmy began her career as a strategy consultant.

Emmy holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from University of California Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management. She received a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Georgetown University. Emmy also studied International Business and Chinese at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Emmy enjoys cooking, eating, and meeting new people. She is a proponent of science and technology in schools, women in leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Michael Fitzgerald

CEO, Submittable   |  LinkedInGoogle+

CEO/Co-founder at @Submittable, Critically acclaimed novelist (www.radiantdays.com), Worked for @IDG, @Healthwise, and @Microsoft and taught at The University of Montana, Missoula and at Boise State.

Elke Govertsen

CEO & Publisher, Mamalode Magazine   |  LinkedIn

Elke Govertsen is the CEO and publisher of Mamalode Magazine (print, online, ipad). Mamalode has been dubbed "America's best parenting magazine" by Lisa Stone, CEO of BlogHer. Elke started the "Learn as you go lecture series" and the Missoula Business Book Club. She is a passionate champion of mentoring, learning and building a healthy startup ecosystem.

Wes Hunt

Founder, Armigent   |  LinkedInGoogle+

After 12 years of developing web applications and sites, Wes is passionate about all things web and improving user experiences. Wes cut his teeth for start-ups in the dot.com boom and has since worked with the largest players in the tech industry designing and building UIs for the web. At Armigent Wes is working to bring better experiences to real estate sellers and listing agents and help them be more productive. As a founder he recognizes the importance the user interface, experience, and interaction plays in product adoption and the success of new companies.

Jason Lengstorf

Senior Developer, Copter Labs   |  LinkedInGoogle+

I’m a turbogeek from Portland. I design and develop websites, and sometimes I draw pictures of turtles.

I’ve written three books (check 'em out here: http://cptr.me/LP9YAm), and I’ve written articles on development and design for Nettuts, CSS Tricks, and Smashing Magazine, among others.

I own and operate Copter Labs, where we build websites, apps, content management systems, and whatever else our clients need. We've worked with a wide range of clients, from local restaurants and personal trainers to corporations like Intel and Sony.

Clyde W. Neu

President, Epic Management Group   |  LinkedIn

Clyde Neu has over 34 years of venture investing experience as the founder of four start-up companies and a director of two others. He has successfully raised venture capital financing in the U.S. and in Europe. He currently serves as board Chairman of three existing Montana companies including New West, Inc. Clyde is also the President of Epic Management Group, a consulting firm on technology and business strategy. He was a professor of management at The University of Montana for nineteen years where he taught business and technology strategy, financial management, and entrepreneurship. He is a co-author of a college textbook on Small Business Management and holds a BS and MS from Montana State University, and a PhD from the University of Minnesota.

Doug Odegaard

Consultant & Software Engineer, intraLogix   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Doug is a native Montanan who has been involved in software engineering and business consulting for over 30 years. He operates a consulting company called intraLogix based in Missoula which serves clients in a variety of vertical markets including healthcare IT, utilities, insurance and workers compensation and many more. In the last five years he has had the extreme pleasure of working with fellow developers and startups including WhoCanHelp.com navigating the wild waters of raising tent poles on an idea and taking flight.

Paul Quinn

Founder & Investment Manager, Quinn Capital LLC   |  LinkedIn

Paul manages client accounts through his proprietary portfolios – the Focus 20 and the Fixed Income. He seeks to compound funds at a better-than-average rate than the market. He aims to minimize the risk of loss through diversification and holding cash when appropriate. His approach is disciplined and consistent and developed over 25+ years of investing experience and study.

Harold Shinsato

Senior Software Dev Engineer, SAP   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Harold Shinsato is an agile coach and software developer. He started his work life with the Xerox PARC technology that inspired the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, has a patent in the Hyperbolic Tree visualization that was invented there, has developed several user interfaces, and also assisted in bringing Agile Software development techniques at the startup, Inxight, that spun out of Xerox and which now is a part of SAP. He's passionate about the power of community for learning such as the Montana Programmers and actively attends and presents at conferences especially around agile and lean software. He founded the annual technology, arts, and change conference, Missoula BarCamp. He is is a pilot, a performer (both improvisation and scripted), a trained Open Space facilitator, and a Co-Active(tm) coach. He currently serves on the boards of the Open Space Institute U.S. and the Stevensville Playhouse.

Mike Sparr

CEO & Founder, Goomzee   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Mike Sparr is a fifth-generation Montana native and alumnus of the University of Montana School of Business Administration. He is a founder of the University of Montana School of Business Information Systems Advisory Board and served for several years. His professional career began at an early age while working his way up through the ranks of his family's automotive service business into management but his passion, however, has always been for software technology. Mike helped grow the software division of an Internet company that sold to a national conglomerate in the late 90's, and then he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to lead software architecture and project management teams for global consulting firm Accenture. His clients included Nokia, British Telecom, Oracle/BEA and Sun Microsystems and he worked and lived around the US and abroad before starting his own company in 2003. Sparr began providing e-commerce solutions to small businesses, and evolved to provide consulting and crisis management for large enterprises. In 2007 after recognizing an opportunity in the real estate industry, the company reorganized to provide mobile software and productivity tools to real estate agents nationwide. Sparr funded and bootstrapped his company Goomzee and products its first two years, and then attracted and raised over $1.6 million in angel and venture capital. He then steered the company through rapid growth despite economic hurdles to amass nearly 20% US market reach, and a nationally-recognized brand amongst key channels and vendors in just over two years. The company continues to grow its brand, technology, team, and market share.

Jason Thane

General Manager, General UI   |  LinkedInGoogle+

As General Manager of General UI, Jason Thane works to shape organizational development and strategy, along with the philosophies that form the foundation for our processes of execution and growth. Jason brings a 14-year track record of success in entrepreneurial leadership and software development to bear in his mission to build value in the firm by driving operational performance, talent acquisition, and the forging of relationships with new partners and clients, established and entrepreneurial alike.

Doug Warner

Principal, OSITA, LLC & Owner, Que Ver, LLC   |  LinkedInGoogle+

Doug Warner is a software industry veteran, working with RightNow Technologies from early startup stage of around 10 employees through the acquisition by Oracle for $1.5B 13 years and 1200 employees later. Doug's academic background as a double major in computer science and cognitive psychology through both bachelor and graduate work give him the skills to interact effectively with all players in software, from software developers to the C-suite, customers, and patent attorneys. As the primary inventor at RightNow he used his interdisciplinary skills across several business units, including software development (coding, research, and management), professional services (primary customer interaction point), and product management (including the driving force behind the acquisition and integration of two companies). Throughout his career at RightNow, he was the sole person responsible for every non-legal aspect of patents, including filing, enforcement, defense, and strategy. Currently Doug is an entrepreneur working on multiple early-stage businesses, including patent and knowledge management consulting, internet retail, cyber-security, and a stealth-mode social network.

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