Ask HN: Startup Weekend, is it worth it? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Startup Weekend, is it worth it?

6 pointsnnd3 comments

I'm curious, what was your experience attending startup weekends.

I've attended one in Italy a while back (when I was pretty new to startups, and didn't know any better) and frankly my whole experience was a bit underwhelming. I've met some interesting people, but overall it consisted mostly of entrepreneur-wannabe-i-heard-cool-kids-do-that audience. Also, it was quite poorly organised (so much to the stereotype about Italians).

Anyone had better luck?

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I did my first one a few months ago. The business that I worked on didn't win, but I learned a lot from my teammates and the other teams that were there. For example there were several teams using wireframing or mockup tools to create simulated mobile apps as their MVPs, and I got to see what they could do with them. My teammates were able to learn from me how to build cost + revenue projections and "what if" analyses with a spreadsheet. Other folks on my team spent the weekend figuring out how to work on an idea with a 3D printer. I suppose if you don't have anything to learn, it might not be worth the time. But who doesn't have anything to learn? Also the food was good, the booze was unlimited, and I got a nice t-shirt out of the deal, so it's got that going for it.

I've been to a few in London & learn something new every time. I went through an accelerator program as a single founder & wanted to learn how to have my voice be heard in a group setting. Working with team mates is so much harder than hacking on something yourself - especially an enthusiastic bunch of lively, talented & confident people!

Startup Weekend can be an exhausting whirlwind of activity. It makes you realise how easy it is to convince teams to get behind an idea. I've worked with teams that took it really seriously but have enjoyed it far more by picking a team I could have fun with.

It's my aim to win a Startup Weekend & make a great product, until then I'll keep improving my skills & making friends.

Startup Weekend is designed to spark someones interest in entrepreneurship. You aren't expected to walk away with much else besides the experience.

They got me interested in entrepreneurship.

I won one, made a very very small amount of money with the business I won with. Shut it down after 1.5 years.

I am pretty grateful to Startup Weekend for getting me... errr.. started. I encourage anybody who is interested in starting a tech business to attend one.

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