Startup Weekend

Posted by Chris Campbell

Watch the videos from the teams at Chicago Startup Weekend and learn about the companies that are starting!

Posted by Chris Campbell

Last night 85 designers, entrepreneurs, developers, marketers and business dev people came together to share contacts and network over some cold beer from Half Acre and delicious Chicago pizza from Art of Pizza. We heard over 45 ideas pitched from the attendees and in the end nine teams formed. Below are the ideas that were born at Startup Weekend. Teams started working last night mapping out their ideas, functionality and planning out the pitches to the investors for Sunday evening.

Here are the teams that have started building companies at Startup Weekend!

BoardRoom
Puts the small business owner back into control by giving them a dashboard to have an overview of the web business software for small business.

College App Application
Central organization tool for college applicants which allows them to track their application process to communicate with admissions officials.

DataInsider.com
Give web companies like cars.com, apartments.com a new way to monetize their data so stock brokers and sales professionals can get on demand sales metrics from the source.

Remnant Retail Space
Bringing renters and landlords together to one marketplace to rent vacant property on a short term basis

UVVO.com
Connect people who want that hard to find something with web savvy spotters to send you in the right direction. The modern day treasure hunt begins!

BigStove.com
BigStove helps chefs and foodies connect locally. We want to help aspiring food entrepreneurs find markets, gain reputation, and legitimize their business. We want to give hungry foodies a convenient, engaging way to find unique local dishes outside of restaurants.

CityMurder.com
Location-based adventure game using open maps to provide a real life context.

ToUFrom.Us
ToUFrom.US helps local businesses fill their stores and restuarants by issuing real-tome, substantial discounts to interested people in the local area.

Perhaps.com
Low maintenance location based dating service activated by your custom preferences based on time, location and activity.

Posted by Chris Campbell

Looking to start or expand a small business but don’t know where to begin? The Chicago Public Library offers free business resources to help turn your business dreams into reality.

Here are just a few of the free resources available with your Chicago Public Library card:

• Business Plans Handbooks Database – hundreds of actual business plans which can help you write your own.
• Reference USA – a database listing companies throughout the USA. You can create a list of competitors in your zip code or develop a mailing list.
• Access to hundreds of articles from business newspapers and journals, like the Wall Street Journal and Crain’s Chicago Business, about your industry or any other business topic.
• Access to hundreds of books about every aspect of small business including marketing, hiring and motivating employees.

Get down to business at the Chicago Public Library! We’ll help you save money, then help you make more.

For more information and to learn how the Library helped power Publisher & Editor of ALARM Magazine Chris Force, visit www.chipublib.org/notwhatyouthink.

Posted by Chris Campbell

If you did not see yesterday, Start-Up Weekend Chicago is officially Sold Out! We are very excited to see you out this weekend and building some great things! We have a press release we have been passing around to our media contacts and we’d love it if you could share it with anyone you may know, it can result in some great press for your new business. You can find it here, http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=72502

Just a couple important pieces of info to recap for the weekend:

Where is it? 215 W. Ohio St, Chicago, IL

When is it? Be sure to make it at 5:30pm tomorrow Friday 6/25

What do I need? Bring some great ideas, a computer, business cards and all of your energy!

Make sure to come hungry and thirsty because BatchBlue, MailChimp, Freshbooks and Moo.com has graciously provided pizza and beverages for tomorrow night!

We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

The Start-Up Weekend Chicago Crew

P.S. If you registered in the last few days check out the first email we sent of reminders: http://chicago.startupweekend.org/reminders-and-updates-for-sw-chicago/

Posted by Chris Campbell

A few of our illustrious sponsors (BatchBlue, MOO, FreshBooks and MailChimp) are part of a cool movement called The Small Business Web. This is a coalition of web app builders that have joined together to make their products integrate using each others’ open APIs. Like all good revolutions, they even have a manifesto:
“We think small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and that it’s from small business that true innovation will arise. We believe small businesses should have access to the same tools and technology that big companies have without paying a huge amount. We know simplifying access and increasing integration to our products and services will benefit all of our customers. We want small businesses to succeed and we want to help.”

To help support Startup Weekend Chicago, they’re not only coming to the event, they’re all chipping in to buy you food and drink over the course of the weekend! After all, the techies that eat and drink together build great companies together, right?

Be sure to say hello to these folks – they love making connections and getting stuff done and they’re really looking forward to meeting all of you!

Posted by Chris Campbell

One of the best things to come out of Startup Weekend (aside from, of course, your revolutionary project) is the number of like-minded folks you’ll meet over the weekend. From potential partners, competitors, other people doing cool things – who knows? You could even meet a future co-founder! But with so much going on, how do you keep track of everyone you meet and just what the %^& it was you talked about? Getting business cards is a great first step, but it’s what you do with your contact information that really matters in today’s hyper-networked, super-social world.

To help out you future ground-breakers and deal-makers, BatchBlue Software is offering all Chicago Start-Up Weekend attendees three free months of BatchBook, their social CRM. Now you can keep track of who you met, add tags to remember what their areas of interest are, add a comment to their contact record (“Loves sushi!” “Has sister in Berlin”), pull in their Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn streams so it’s in one place and even set a reminder to follow up with someone once the excitement of the conference has died down. And they even offer two hours free Customer On-Boarding to help get you started. Building your network has never been so social (or so easy).

All Startup Weekend attendees will be receiving a promo code for three free months of BatchBook (will be sent to you in an email) so you can dive in and check it out. And, the lucky winner of Startup Weekend will get a Free BatchBook account for life: unlimited contacts, users, storage space, the whole enchilada for as long as they’re alive! So live long, Startup Weekenders. Build your contact network. And prosper.

Posted by Chris Campbell

As you may have seen yesterday or today the Start-Up Weekend venue has changed. We are pleased to announce that it will be located at 215 W Ohio St, Chicago, IL. The space is a better fit for all of us and will provide a creative environment for you to launch your newest venture!

Have you told your friends that you’re going to Start-Up Weekend? Make sure to post it on your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and whatever other networks you use. We even are helping out by providing your posts:

For Twitter

“I’m launching a business this weekend @SWChicago you should be too! Join me- http://ow.ly/21Z8g”

For Facebook and LinkedIn

“I’m launching a business this weekend at Start-Up Weekend Chicago, you should be too! Join me- http://ow.ly/21Z8g”

Just a few questions we’ve been getting and would like to cover before the start of the event:

What types of ideas should I be ready to pitch? Most of the ideas are web-based or mobile applications. Generally ideas which involve creating a tangible product do not work well because you need something to present to the panel on Sunday. If you have any idea at all we encourage you to pitch it!

How do I pitch my idea? The pitches on Friday night will be informal (no PowerPoint allowed) and you will allotted one minute to explain your idea. If you would like to sharpen your pitching skills before Friday check out: http://www.slideshare.net/suwvienna/tutorial-startup-weekend-pitch-2324035
Do I need to bring a computer? Yes, make sure to bring a computer- laptops are preferred but if you only have a desktop please feel free to bring that.

Should I be worried about my idea getting stolen? Start-Up Weekend pitch’s are done in an open forum and no non-disclosures are going to be signed. If you are really concerned about your idea being stolen, our advice is keep it to yourself.

How do we form the teams?
We allow the teams to form themselves. Once the pitches are done we allow everyone to levitate to the idea they would like to pursue for the weekend. Generally teams of 5-7 members work best.

What time should I get there on Friday?
Try to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 so you have a chance to eat and network with other attendees.

How will I know what someone else’ specialty is?
We will have colored name tags when you register to denote what your specialty is.

How do I get there?
If you are driving off 90/94 we are right off the Ohio feeder ramp and there are two pay parking lots located directly across the street (FYI we do not validate).
If by public transit: The brownline Chicago and Merchandise Mart stops are both a few blocks away, check maps.google.com for the quickest route to the venue.

Anything else I should bring? Business cards, and if you have an extra extension cord and/or power strip please bring it. Also, bring a great attitude and a lot of energy!
We look forward to seeing you all at the event on Friday! Keep your eyes open for a final email on Thursday evening to give any updates.

Thanks,

The Start-Up Weekend Chicago Crew

Posted by Chris Campbell

Getting a business to succeed requires more than just a great idea. Knowing your market is everything. Using a traditional marketing group means your answers are coming from a panel of people who are used to taking surveys; you’re going to get the same information as everyone else.

Lab42 leverages social media to get answers from your potential customers in the most natural way – grabbing their attention while they go about their day-to-day activities.

Lab42 isn’t just market research; it’s GREAT market research. It will get you the answers in your market’s life, their universe and everything else.

Lab42 a Sandbox Industries company has come through to sweeten the pot of the top three finalists from Startup Weekend Chicago. The teams that place 1st, 2nd or 3rd will be get a Premium research package from Lab 42 (a $500 value). All other teams can still take advantage of Lab42′s offerings with an exclusive 25% off coupon that will be distributed to attendees.

Curious whats in the Premium Package? Here are the details.

This package is for those early stage companies who may have done some basic market research in the past, but need to garner even more insight from their target market. With the Premium Package, you receive:

• Up to a 25 question survey (including a 30 minute survey writing consultation)
• Ability to access hard-to-reach target markets without the use of survey panels
• A full report of all the collected data, including the raw data as well as call-outs of the key points
• From survey creation to data collection, Lab42 will get your results in 3 business days or less.

The results from this plan are statistically significant at the following levels:

• 5% margin of error (?)
• 95% confidence level (?)
• Population size of 20,000 (?)
• 50% response distribution (?)

Thanks Lab 42 for supporting startups in Chicago!

Posted by Chris Campbell

Our team of volunteers are constantly working to make sure that this Startup Weekend is legendary for the attendees- with delicious food, great people, solid networking and a sweet venue. This week we are proud to announce that we have secured a new larger venue at 215 W Ohio, Chicago, IL 60654. (shoutout to Jason at BarCamp for hooking us up).

This new venue touts a wide floor plan with plenty of cool workspaces. It comes fully equipped with cool things like a giant light up arrow, high speed internet and a garage door. (Yes, a garage door inside).

Ohh and did I mention that we are having a networking event on Saturday night on the roof top deck with fantastic views? Yes, it has 360 degree view of the city from the heart of the River North neighborhood. See pictures below to fully understand the coolness.

We are still looking for sponsors to help us with various aspects of the event, if you know anyone interested in throwing in some sponsorship money or has 75 office chairs we can borrow, give a shout to Mark Bertrand at mark @ chicagoblueprints.com. Every dollar from attendees and sponsors goes right into making this a better event for every attendees. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on Friday!