Startup Weekend. Why do we do it? Three Big E's; that's why

Lowndes Jordan has been a strong supporter of what are now Techstars Startup Weekends since they started back in 2011.  Since then, Rick Shera and other Lowndes Jordan people have mentored at all the weekends in Auckland, and at Wellington, Palmerston North, Tauranga and Taranaki.  We've mentored at well over half of them Nationally and sponsored most of the Auckland ones!  We also offer a legal services package for the winning team.

All Techstars Startup Weekend events follow the same model:

• Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers.  34 ideas were recently pitched!
• Teams form organically around the ideas and those that have the most popular votes or team members carry on past Friday night. Each team must have at least 5 people.  11 teams were formed this time.
• What follows is a 54-hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, market validation flowing into the creation of a 5 minute pitch deck.
• The event culminates on Sunday night with pitch presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders, and expert judges, presenting another opportunity for valuable feedback and to recognise the overall winner.   This year the winner was “Old School”, focussing on matching “old schooler” retirees who have expertise and who want to give back and be connected, with “new schoolers”, people who need that expertise in their daily lives, whether that be how to change a tap washer, fix a car, grow great veges, or even need some business guidance.  The team identified, and the judges recognised, a real gap and business model that would work with a platform designed for ease of use.

So, why do we do it?  Having just finished a fantastic Auckland weekend, which returned after a couple of years hiatus, Rick Shera considers it the best he’s been involved with in terms of overall experience.  Here are the three things that stand out - the Big E's:

Excitement - it's hard to describe the atmosphere of a startup weekend. 70 or so people divided into teams that have just come together. Mix together concentrated, extreme, hard work, adrenaline, creativity and that all important ability to collaborate productively, in one physical space.  Add great food, coffee and the odd beer or vino, plus mentors, organisers, friends, investors, judges, media and guests.  Stir well.  It's intense.

Ecosystem - As lawyers who work with entrepreneurs at all stages of the business lifecycle, it's great for us to be able to assist and really get to know our future leaders and to reconnect with our current ones. There's always something new happening in this space so the discussions and opportunities are wide ranging. This year for example, there was a lot of talk about AI but also social purpose, which is good to see. Cunning new business plans often raise business structure, intellectual property, privacy and cybersecurity issues, so we get to stretch ourselves in that area too.

Excellence - New Zealand has had the greatest number of startup weekends per capita of any country.  It shows.  The organisation runs like a well-oiled machine.  The calibre of the mentors with whom we share the teams' journeys, and of the judging panel, is brilliant. True subject matter experts many of whom have trodden the startup, growth and exit path themselves.  The GridAKL venue, home to a permanent startup co-working space, is the perfect environment.  Awesome.  This is excellence in New Zealand collaboration.

We’ll be back!