If you are interested in entrepreneurship the answer is most likely yes. Whether you are a serial entrepreneur or new to the startup scene, you’ll fit right in as long as you are motivated to build a product or startup and are open to new ideas. We believe that great ideas can come from anywhere.

The event is intended to be a collaborative and inclusive forum for sharing, learning, building, and having fun. We expect each member of the startup community to be inclusive of all people and their ideas at Techstars Startup Weekend and we welcome all, regardless of experience, industry or background.

Apart from the organizing team, mentors, speakers, event volunteers and judges, everyone who participates in the event is expected to participate in all three days. This is important not only to preserve your own learning experience, but also to minimize distractions or disruptions for the team you choose to join. At many Techstars Startup Weekends, a “Sunday Presentation Only” registration option is available for those wishing to only view the teams’ final pitch presentations. We welcome any friends, family or colleagues you would like to invite to watch your final presentation to see all you have accomplished in just one weekend. Please check the registration page of your city’s event website for availability.

Everyone who attends the event as a participant is expected to come to the event without a team and then join and participate with a team at the event. This is important to preserve the Techstars Startup Weekend educational experience. The ideal team consists of members from diverse backgrounds and experiences who collaborate to build a great minimum viable product (MVP) using the Lean Canvas framework. The more people you have on your team to help you do market research and business model development, the quicker you’ll develop an MVP to pitch on Sunday. 

No, but we highly encourage you to. You can pitch an idea you’ve been thinking about for years, or something you think of at the last minute during the event. Please don’t pitch an idea that you’ve already been developing or have been working on outside of Startup Weekend. The point of the event is to learn how to go from ideation to product. 

Pitching provides invaluable practice for public speaking. You won’t regret pitching, but might regret not pitching. 

No! The event is designed to accommodate participants at various stages. You can join a team working on an idea that interests you, contribute your skills and expertise, and collaborate with others to bring the concept to life. This experience allows you to learn.

• Laptop/Portable Computer
• Power cord for Laptop
• Notepad and pen
• Business cards (or a business card app)
• Your phone – feel free to take pictures or video of the event 
• Optional: A second monitor, keyboard, etc…. Whatever helps you to be most productive.
• Lots of energy!

A key part of every Techstars Startup Weekend is the valuable advice and assistance provided by the event’s speakers and mentors. In the spirit of our motto, “No Talk, All Action,” we try to keep talks short and sweet, focusing on practical issues (i.e. “How to give a persuasive pitch” and “Best approaches to customer validation”) that can actually help you and your team better achieve your weekend goals. Mentors – community experts in various fields ranging from entrepreneurship, software development, marketing, finance, law, and more – dedicate their time to provide advice. In addition to the most valuable resources at the weekend (the people), we’ve put together a list of some useful resources and tools for before, during, and after the weekend. Check out the Tools for Participants section above for more info.

While there are no specific requirements in terms of what teams should have accomplished by Sunday, it’s in your best interest to plan your execution around what you’ll be judged for on Sunday:

• Customer Validation: did you research your business idea?
• Execution and Design: what did you build?
• Business Model: do you have a plan for the future?

As far as presenting goes, some of the most common presentations include any, or a  combination, of the following:

• Website wireframes or more developed sites
• Mobile App wireframes to fully functional apps
• Videos (for product demonstrations for example)
• Slide decks with product screenshots, embedded videos etc
• Live product demos
• Skits

If you have any dietary restrictions, please email our team to let us know at team@351.community.
While we may not be able to accommodate all restrictions, we will do our best to check with our suppliers. In addition to regular meals, we can offer vegan and vegetarian options for those who request them at least 72 hours before the event begins.