Difference between Startup Weekend and a Startup - StartupJuncture

Difference between Startup Weekend and a Startup - StartupJuncture

Dan Fennessy explaining the difference between the experiences at Startup Weekend Amsterdam and launching an actual startup (Party with a local).

I really think Startup Weekend is a great event, it’s like a crash course on startups. At the end of the event, the teams have an opportunity to continue on with their products. Some do. Some don’t.

I think the relationship analogy used for theTeam section is brilliant:

A Startup Weekend team is like a one night stand- youre together for a short time, its intense, rushed, at times clumsy, its usually alcohol-fueled,you dont get much sleep and you may or may not ever see them again.

A real startup team is more like a marriageyou meet (often introduced by a friend), you date for a while, see how you click and work together, if it starts to go well and things are getting serious, then its time to formalise the relationship.

I highly recommend that if you are interested or intrigued by startups you join a Startup Weekend, it is still one of the best ways to get to know startups and know that there will be some similarities and differences between the weekend and Monday morning.

Things that three year olds shouldn't know

Three year olds should not know what starvation feels like. Three year olds should not know how it feels to sleep on the streets. Three year olds should not know how to sift through garbage in a dump site. Three year olds should not know what scabies is. Three year olds should not know what it means to be raped or murdered.

There are certain things in this world that we have a responsibility for, one such thing is children. Last night, on an outreach to a community living at the margins of society (a.k.a. living in poverty) we learned of some truly tragic situations. A three year old had been raped. A three year old had been murdered. We did as much as we could for the families involved and gave what seemed like futile condolences. With heavy hearts we continued to walk through the streets this community calls home and found another three year old. This situation was a three year old girl living with scabies - she was covered from head to foot. Her grandmother, who tries to care for her, wasat a loss on what to do, so the child has just lived with this. We aren’t even sure how long these rashes have tormented this poor child.

After providing them with some basic salve and ointment, which was all we had with us, we left the area and Hilary and I decided that we needed to do something more. We called friends who run an orphanage to look into the rape situation, as the child was under the care of the Social Welfare Department. We knew that we could also help the little one with the rash, so we returned to the area Saturday afternoon and walked to where this grandmother told us she lived. We found a small community of makeshift shelters - pieces of trash, tires and cardboard held together by hopes, ropes and prayers.

One of our Glory Reborn team members was with us and we talked with the neighbors as our grandmother and three year old were not there. We learned that she would be back later, so we left for a meeting we had to attend, and our team member, Katrina, vowed to return later with more of the team to find this grandmother and bring them to the clinic where we could treat the child.

Our team returned later, and the grandmother agreed to go to the clinic. Katrina immediately fell in love with the child and despite the rash, she carried the little one back to the car. Our team at the clinic responded in their usual amazing way and sprung into action - they found clothes and toys for her and began to prepare the treatment. Hilary and I stopped by the grocery and department store to pick up food and supplies to care for her with. We knew that due to the severity of the rash, the treatment will take time, so we asked if the grandmother would leave the child with us until Monday. This way we could get her treatment started and keep her out of the environment in which she contracted this. The grandmother agreed and just as she was leaving the clinic, a woman in labor walked into the clinic. Hilary glanced at me, a glance I have seen before and have come to love, the “You have to do something about this now, David” glance. I said, “Lets take her to the house, she can stay with us.”

For the past 24 hours, I have been blessed to know and care for a marvelous three year old. A three year old, who at the onset did not say a word, yet while in the car ride home, she opened her arms for me to hold her when Hilary was getting out. She screams when we bathe her from the pain of her rash and we do our best to comfort her. Today, on a short walk, we held her hands, and when I let go, she kept her hand extended just waiting for mine to return. She still has not said much, though there was a little singing. Today, as I walked in, she smiled. It melted my heart and I realized that I have so much to be thankful for.

There are things three year olds should not know or have to live through. It is our responsibility to care for them and to do something to change that. We each have the capacity to do that.

Juicing the Orange

Facebook stock ($FB) took a little jump up over the past month, and while I may not be using it as regularly as many I have a few thoughts on their current strategy. Many have said that Facebook is AOL 2.0and collated some interestingthoughts.

Jason Kottke on Facebook in 2007:

Think of it this way. Facebook is an intranet for you and your friends that just happens to be accessible without a VPN. If you’re not a Facebook user, you can’t do anything with the site…nearly everything published by their users is private.

Intranet a.k.a.walled garden.

Bob Pittman, former COO of AOL via TheSharpener:

When you had that walled garden, it was wonderful how this area was perpetuated, said Bob Pittman at the Milken Institute Conference in Beverly Hills.

AOL, which was the largest Internet access provider, began to tear down its walls in 2004 and accelerated in 2006 when they offered free email accounts at AOL.com.

Pittman said AOLs decision to abandon its walled garden is what caused the current problems, but said it is unlikely that Facebook make the same mistake.

Facebook is the next walled garden. It is second only to AOL. They are really clever and will not let anyone convince them to leave the walled garden, he said.

The former COO of AOL states that Facebook is the new walled garden, and I cannot help but agree. Facebook has a dual layer of walls, they first have your friends and family, and second they have your attention (time) and perception that Facebook is the Internet. I’ve especially observed the perception phenomenon in the areas of the developing world where I have lived. I frequently walk down the streets of Cebu where computers are set up like video arcade machines you drop coins in for minutes on the PC. The majority of users on these PC arcades are browsing Facebook. I’ve talked with many of them, and their understanding of the Internet is similar to a typical AOL user’s understanding when AOL was in its prime there is nothing outside thewalled garden.

Of course Facebook “will not let anyone convince them to leave the walled garden”, but that doesn’t mean that users will not peek out and decide to leave on their own. The walled garden strategy will not work forever, users will get out. AOL adapted their strategy and so will Facebook. In the meantime they appear to be juicing the dickens out of the orange that is their advertising revenue.

Lights in motion

Lights in motion (Taken with Instagram at Tavolata | la trattoria di abac)

Just Do It.

Short. Simple. Profound.

In my opinion this has to be one of the best taglines an ad agency has done. Credit to Wieden+Kennedy.

I still remember sitting on the couch as a little boy watching that Nike commercial, after it finished I jumped up, grabbed my basketball and shot free throws for an hour.The power of advertising.

Another great tagline that speaks to me in a similar way, is that of Startup Weekend: No Talk. All Action. We are in the midst of planning the second Startup Weekend here in Cebu, and yours truly is the lead organizer. I remember after the first event thinking to myself “I had no idea how much work that would be, I will never do that again”. A few months later the Just Do It mantra took over and here I go again.

Monday night a friend (and fellow startup entrepreneur) and I had dinner, we both share a frustration in hearing a lot of talk about co-working spaces opening up in Cebu. Halfway through our meal, we decided that we will just do it. (Sign up for more info here:BahayStartup)

The reason I am talking about all of these tag lines, slogans and mantras is that I feel they are essential to successful entrepreneurs. It is the quintessential attitude of a founder. If you want to start your own company, you have to ask yourself “Do I have the tenacity to do this?” Do you have the tenacity to work late, to finish that last issue, to write just one more email, to do all the things no one else wants to do and to do them excellently, do you have the courage to ship and ship often? These questions aren’t the type that you answer once and then sail through for the rest of your life. No, these are the type that pop up every day, and you have to stare back at them and yell, JUST DO IT.