Tulsa Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend Head Start at The Forge Oct. 25th 6-8:30pm

swtulsa — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:51:22 +0000

Due to the substantial interest in this year’s Startup Weekend Tulsa and thanks to our new partnership with The Forge, this year we are hosting a Startup Weekend Head Start event. This event will be a very informal open house and mixer where you can learn more about Startup Weekend, what to expect, how to prepare and maybe even pick up some tips from previous winners. We will also have some adult refreshments and light appetizers on hand to get things rolling.

What is Startup Weekend? Startup Weekend is a global network of events where developers, engineers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together for 54 hours to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups. Visit tulsa.startupweekend.org for more info.

What is The Forge? The Forge is a place where raw ideas and passionate Tulsans are shaped into successful, sustainable businesses… It’s a place where your ideas, your dreams, your innovations can take shape. Visit www.theforge-tulsa.com for more info.

When is it? 6 to 8:30pm Thursday October 25th

Where is it? At The Forge’s beautiful new space located at 125 West 3rd Street in Downtown Tulsa.

Who is invited? You are! Since this is an open house you do not have to have a ticket to Startup Weekend to attend! So what are you waiting for? RSVP Here

Fire Fighters and Raspberry Pi, Oh My!

swtulsa — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:36:34 +0000

This year’s Startup Weekend Tulsa, will be the first one in the world to feature the Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi is a new low cost credit card sized computer that is disrupting the computer world, inspiring developers and exciting entrepreneurs. With a cost of only $35 it is the perfect platform for development of Internet Appliances, Embedded Computers, and related products. There is strong evidence that the Raspberry Pi is quickly emerging as a gateway to entrepreneurship especially among software developers that are intrigued by the potential to build products that interface to the real world. Although the Raspberry Pi is a featured element, teams will not be required to use them and participants will, as always, be allowed to pitch any idea that they want.

This year Startup Weekend has also partnered with the City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Fire Department to invite Tulsa Fire Fighters. Fire Fighters are a unique and dedicated group of people with determination and a strong work ethic. In this light they are potentially great entrepreneurs. In addition the nature of their job dealing with difficult situations and highly technical equipment gives them great perspective on tools, technology and equipment that could help the fire fighting community or world in general.

The winning team from this year’s Startup Weekend Tulsa will go on to compete against 130 Teams in the Global Startup Battle. This opportunity gives a Tulsa team the chance to become the Global Startup Champion giving them and Tulsa unprecedented media exposure and access to the venture capital community.

All combined these new additions will make this year’s Startup Weekend Tulsa a once in a lifetime experience.

More info and some cool librarians (yes you read that right!)

swtulsa — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 05:59:10 +0000

This year Startup Weekend is excited to be partnering with the Tulsa City-County Library and will have Research Center librarians on-hand Saturday during the event to help participants find the information they need to support their ventures.

In case you didn’t know, the city’s fourth Startup Weekend is taking place in conjunction with Tulsa’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. The week-long series of events will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9th.

Startup Weekend Tulsa sponsors include Isocentric Networks, Fab Lab Tulsa, AppTank and Okinetic.

….WTF?

swtulsa — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 05:21:28 +0000

Not sure how you got here or what the hell Startup Weekend is? Good, that means you have an inquisitive mind which makes you perfect for Startup Weekend …”Yes..yes I know that but i still don’t know what the hell Startup Weekend is!”

So here is the deal. Startup Weekend is one of the coolest things to hit the world of entrepreneurship since well -sliced bread (Just think how much money the first guy to slice bread must have made) But seriously there are millions of bright people running around the third planet from the sun with tons of great ideas rattling through their heads. The problem is that very few people seem to be able to execute on those ideas. They are constantly planning this or thinking about that but they never seem to actually get anything done. That is because they don’t realize that deadlines, at least in the world of entrepreneurship, are our friends. Setting deadlines is the swift kick in the butt many entrepreneur need to get things done. And (cue the music) that is where Startup Weekend enters (stage right). Startup Weekend is as real and in your face as it gets, You say you have an awesome idea? Great you now have 54 hours to get it done…and the clock is ticking. WTF 54 hours? Yes 54 Hours!

See Startup Weekend has produced more than a few of these little get togethers (over 115 actually) and every time we are blown away with how much teams can actually get done.

Oh, did someone say teams? Yeah I might have skipped over that part too. Besides setting deadlines Startup Weekend helps you do something else – form a team. The vibe and energy around Startup Weekend inspire all kinds of creative and dynamic people to come out for a whole host of reasons and before you know it you suddenly have access to the most amazing bunch of diverse and dynamic people you have ever met. So what do you think? Are you ready to dust off that idea and see where it might take you?

Benefits of participating in Startup Weekend Tulsa!

swtulsa — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:08:50 +0000

~~Some~~ All of you have the question of “What do I get out of Startup Weekend?”, so we made a quick list that will help you answer this question:

Work with cutting edge technologies! The things that will be built are built by people that want to build them, not because they have to. So it’s always tomorrow’s technologies today.
Meet “doers”, people that actually get things done
Seed money!!!
Food and drinks covered the entire weekend
All kinds of hosting/server software
Valuable experience to add to your resume
SCHWAG, tshirts and related fun stuff
The experience of going from IDEA to PRODUCT in one weekend
FUN!!!!!!!!
Other super amazing, mind blowing stuff that our lawyer will not permit us to publish

SWTulsa Success Story: Matt Galloway

swtulsa — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:22:21 +0000

As a previous winner of Startup Weekend Tulsa, Matt Galloway left Startup Weekend feeling confident and ready to create something of his own.
Before Matt could decide his next step, the universe decided for him.
The Monday after Startup Weekend, he found out he was getting laid off in February.
Matt spent the next few weeks deciding what his game plan was. A month after his layoff, Matt cofounded Architactile, a company that makes Apple iPad applications for architects.
Matt attributes the confidence he felt to start Architactile to Startup Weekend.
“That weekend helped me realize that I want to work in a startup environment, not in a big corporate atmosphere,” he said. “Startup Weekend really motivated me to take the leap and try to get something going.”
The company’s first endeavor is tentatively called Inception.
The application helps architects speed up the planning process by putting everything on the screen of an iPad. Architects can quickly show clients the project’s scope and conceptual budget, thanks in part to the fact that the application does formulas for the architects.
Anyone can download the free version of the application, Inception Lite, on iTunes. Matt hopes to launch the paid version in December.
Inception Lite has been downloaded more than 2,000 times. Only 40 percent of the downloads have been in the U.S., something Matt didn’t anticipate.
He soon updated the application to include metric units and international currency symbols to make it more applicable for use outside the U.S.
“We’re very encouraged at this point,” he said. “We have no idea whether anybody will actually pay for it yet. We’ll find that out in December.”

SWTulsa Success Story: Caleb Oller

swtulsa — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:21:22 +0000

Caleb Oller left Startup Weekend knowing that just because he’s 24, doesn’t mean he can’t try to start a business.

For young people, Startup Weekend is a huge confidence boost.
“It makes startup ideas feel more possible,” he said. “So, build stuff you’re passionate about, have fun doing it and something will happen.”
Caleb grew up in southeast Oklahoma in Wilburton, a town of about 3,000 people. He now works in Providence, Rhode Island, at a software engineering consulting firm.
Caleb wouldn’t be living 1,600 miles from home had he not attended Startup Weekend in Tulsa.
Startup Weekend got the ball rolling for Caleb. He was able to network with aspiring entrepreneurs and, through those connections, find out about opportunities like Betaspring, a 12-week startup accelerator program in Providence.
Caleb finished that program and is now in a great position to try for a second attempt with a startup business.
Caleb was the cofounder of a software development company that ended earlier this year when he and his business partner parted ways. Regardless, the experience was invaluable. And it taught him that it’s OK to fail.
“There shouldn’t be fear of failure,” he said. “If you’re scared of failure, you’ll be scared to go into Startup Weekend.”

SWTulsa Success Story: Geoffrey Simpson

swtulsa — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:19:33 +0000

Running a software company was a life goal for Geoffrey Simpson.
As a kid, he had two uncles who were computer programmers. Then in high school, he went to the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City where he took advanced computer classes.
Then came the computer science degree from Oklahoma State University followed by a master’s in business administration.
Then the job as a software architect.
Geoff had the skills to something really great. He just needed a little inspiration.
Cue Startup Weekend.
Startup Weekend allowed Geoff to see everything that goes into starting a company — from the product development side of things to the advertising, marketing and public relations aspect.
For Geoff, the actual software development part was the easy part.
The challenge was finding all the other people he needed — the graphic designers, copywriters and editors — and then creating all of the marketing materials.
Startup Weekend gets all of those people in one room and then energizes them to work together.
“That’s just something that doesn’t happen every day in business, or in life in general,” he said. “The experience was fantastic — for us to create a goal and then finish it by Sunday night.”
Meanwhile, at Startup Weekend, Geoff learned about Twilio, a service that allows a company to make phone calls and send text messages through coding and programming.
Geoff took what he learned about Twilio and turned it into a real-life product called Diner Connection.
He took what he learned about Twilio, and he and his wife Shawna then started Moxie Software, a custom software and web application development company.
They recently launched their first product called Diner Connection, a web-based program that allows restaurants to better communicate with their patrons.
For one, Diner Connection replaces bulky buzzers. Rather than waiting at a restaurant outside with a buzzer, the restaurant is able to send patrons a text message when their table is ready. Restaurants can also contact customers when their to-go orders are ready and also harvest the numbers and do text message marketing.
And customers can talk back. They can ask how long their wait is or maybe answer whether patio tables are available.
Diner Connection launched Sept. 1. So far, Iguana Mexican Grill in Oklahoma City is the closest customer to Tulsa using the program.
By using Diner Connection, the restaurant was able to open a bar area in its parking lot where customers have a more comfortable waiting area than a small crowded lobby.
The experience of the three jam-packed days last November gave Geoff and Shawna a concentrated view of what goes into running a company.
“I think it’s a worthwhile experience for anyone to try if they’re interested in starting a company,” he said.
“Anyone” can even include 20-somethings from small towns in Oklahoma.

What is this all worth?

swtulsa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:32:55 +0000

Putting a price tag on the first Startup Weekend Tulsa…

Event space: $1,500
7 Meals & Snacks: $1,700
T-shirts: $200
Prize Money: $2,000

Launching 5 new companies in one weekend: Priceless

Startup Weekend Tulsa Video Team Updates

swtulsa — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:17:44 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.