Past event…

Sep 14 2012 Event Ended

Ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

The professional and personal challenges, the high and lows, the failures and the success?

Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.

The non-profit organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. From Mongolia to South Africa to London to Brazil, people around the globe are coming together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.

All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.

Whether entrepreneurs found companies, find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5, everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now for the best weekend of your life!

Women’s edition. Blokes still welcome.

Obviously, this event is about women. You know, the ladies, las chicas, die Frauen, les femmes quoi. Regardless of what you call them, we tend to notice that there are usually far fewer women than men at Startup Weekend events.

Therefore, with this edition of Startup Weekend, we are inviting as many ladies as possible to step up and participate! Naturally, we are trying to be as inclusive as possible. Which is why blokes are, of course, still completely welcome.

We provide the working space, brain fuel, food, mentors, new friends, and inspiring speakers and judges. You supply the energy and innovation to build something big over the weekend.

This particular Startup Weekend will have a unique spin: a focus on connecting and showcasing the talents of women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. Men who wish to attend Women’s Startup Weekend can do so!

Ready to join us? We only have 100 spots available so we expect the event to sell out fast. The weekend will be hosted at Google Campus (3rd and 4th floor).

Get ready to build something exciting. See you September 14!

FAQ

Why a women-focused Startup Weekend?

The entrepreneurial talent we see from women in London is inspiring, and we are excited about creating an event that will showcase it. A big goal for the event is also to provide the opportunity for the aspiring women entrepreneurs in our community to (1) get inspired by an idea/product/team… perhaps even enough to explore starting their own venture, or (2) become more connected with other brilliant entrepreneurially-minded individuals in London and thus more engaged within our local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Are men allowed to attend Women’s Startup Weekend?

Yes! Of course! Since London Women’s Startup Weekend is about connecting entrepreneurial women through the process of building exciting companies, we want to connect them to the best resources and people out there – that includes both men and women.

That said, to ensure that we maintain a high percentage of female participants, the number of tickets we issue to men will be limited (there will be a wait list). If you’re a man who wants to attend, find a female participant to bring you along and we might be able to issue a ticket for you!

Will the participants be required to pitch or work on “women-focused” startup ideas?

No, participants can pitch and work on any kind of startup idea they wish.

Schedule

Friday

Sep 14

6:30pm Registration Starts
7:00pm Dinner & Networking
7:20pm Welcome & Speakers
7:30pm Pitches Start
9:00pm Attendees vote for the top ideas
9:15pm Teams start forming and discussing ideas
10:00pm Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Saturday

Sep 15

9:00am Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
9:30am Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Call for needs & skills
2:00pm Coaches help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
6:30pm Dinner
7:30pm Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
10:00pm Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Sunday

Sep 16

9:00am Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
10:00am Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)
12:00pm Lunch
12:30pm Coaches arrive… ASK QUESTIONS
3:00pm Gut check. Start prepping for presentations
4:00pm Dinner
5:00pm FINAL PRESENTATIONS
7:30pm Judging & awards
8:30pm Wrapup
9:00pm Go home!

Platinum Sponsors

Become one

Speakers

Dana Al Salem

Founder, Fanshake | LinkedIn

Dana has been at the forefront of digital media and music since 1994 when she co-founded Clockwork, a Stockholm based multimedia agency which built the first music websites for artists (Sony, RCA).

In May 1996 Dana co-founded Yahoo! Europe, built the Yahoo! Europe production team and managed the European local territories.

In 2002 as Biz Dev Director at Bruce Dunlop & Associates, Dana managed the launch, programming, rebranding, and scheduling alignment of Sky Italia, MBC, ITV, and in 2006 she was awarded the World Gold Promax award.

In 2005 Dana founded the label LostRecords, managed, produced artists and worldwide tours for artists such as Chris Stills, Paul Personne, Louis Bertignac and Youssou NDour, Mark Ford. Marketing was 100% digital, LostRecords was selling 200 cds per concert.

Dana is now Founder of FanShake, a platform of tools for music fans, which rewards fans for the amount of promotion they create around an artist. Fans can demand concerts, participate in contests, discover artists, play games, create and manage fan clubs, and receive exclusive offers on live events. Labels are able to understand exactly who their fans are, build targeted marketing campaigns, enhance their content and give visibility to top fans. Concert promoters, ticketing services, and producers better understand their public, increase direct sales and effectively reduce marketing costs.

Gold Sponsors

Become one

Judges

Nick Holzherr

CEO Whisk | Twitter Facebook

Nick heads up commercial aspects at Whisk, the business put to Lord Sugar in the BBC Apprentice 2012. He has 3 years of commercial experience heading up two successful start-up companies where he has been responsible for product design, user experience and all management aspects of the businesses. In 2011 he was named Birmingham Young Professional of the Year for entrepreneurship after being named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Business Insider in 2010. He grew up in Switzerland and loves home cooking. Surf and Turf is his favourite dish, as well as Swiss fondue, of course!

Belinda Parmar

CEO Lady Geek | Twitter LinkedIn

Belinda is the founder of Lady Geek and Lady Geek TV which has recently been awarded Best Internet Company 2011 by RED magazine. Lady Geek helps make technology more accessible and appealing to women and young girls.

Lady Geek’s clients include Xbox, Dell, Nokia, Vodafone, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Sony Ericsson, 1000 heads & YouGov.

Belinda has spent her career in marketing and advertising. She has worked in some of the world’s most influential advertising agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi & Ogilvy. She has been advising and partnering with technology clients for over 14 years.

Belinda is also professor at Syracuse University, winner of APG and D&AD awards. She has recently been shortlisted for a First Woman award. She is voted one of Computer Weekly Top Female Technology Entrepreneurs. She has appeared on BBC, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Channel 4 as a pundit on how women use technology in the real world.

Belinda is also working on a book entitled Little Miss Geek, helping the next generation of Lady Geeks use their technology and reform ICT education in secondary schools to make technology more socially and gender inclusive.

Belinda has regularly written for WIRED, Management Today, The Times and has a column in the Huffington Post.

Jamillah Knowles

UK Editor at The Next Web | Twitter LinkedIn

Jamillah is the UK Editor for The Next Web. She's based in London. You can hear her on BBC Radio 5Live's Outriders.

Hussein Kanji

Early stage investor | Twitter LinkedIn

Hussein is an angel investor or advisor to several early stage startups including Bea’s of Bloomsbury, European Leaders, Eventasaurus, Exclusively.in, Flypost, GoCardless, Jaycut (acquired by RIM), KBG, Kiosked, LLUSTRE, Signpost, Stylebox and Tarmin.

He is also an advisor to the Chairman of Eros International Plc (EROS:LN), an Indian media and entertainment company, and Different Capital, an early stage venture firm run by four former video game executives. He also helps the UK government with technology policy.

He was formerly with Accel Partners, where he focused on consumer internet, financial technology and software investments. He helped make the firm’s investments in OpenGamma, Playfish (acquired by Electronic Arts), BountyJobs, United Mobile, Dapper (acquired by Yahoo!), and held additional board observer seats at Njini (acquired by Riverbed) and The Cloud (acquired by Sky).

Hussein joined Accel from Microsoft Corporation, where he held several strategy and product management roles, and was selected to the company’s leadership program for his work building the speech recognition business.

Hussein began his career in the Bay Area, and helped found or play a key role at Safe-View (acquired by L-3), Radiance Technologies (acquired by Comcast) and Studio Verso (acquired by KPMG). Hussein holds an MBA from London Business School, where he sat on the International Alumni Board, and did his undergraduate studies in Symbolic Systems at Stanford University.

Silver Sponsors

Coaches

Nick Holzherr

CEO Whisk | Twitter Facebook

Avid Larizadeh

Cofounder and COO of Boticca | LinkedIn

Before co-founding Boticca, Avid worked in Paris alongside the CEO and founder of Altavia, an independent global marketing communications group specialised in retail businesses. Prior to that she was at Accel Partners in London where she focused primarily on software and Internet investments. Avid has strong product management experience from four years working at eBay in Silicon Valley, and she also has worked at a number of start-ups, including Skype (acquired by eBay) and Tellme Networks (acquired by Microsoft). Avid earned her BS and MS in engineering at Stanford University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She grew up in Paris and has lived in San Francisco, Boston and London.

David Randall

Head of Operations UK & Ireland at Airbnb | LinkedIn

David is the Head of Operations for Airbnb in for UK & Ireland. Previous to that, he managed the commercial partnership for P&G and the Olympics by integrating over 20 brands into the Olympic sponsorship programme along with their brand ambassadors. David has however been rooted in the start up community since his time at university where he founded several small start up companies and thoroughly enjoys the excitement of building great companies out of interesting ideas.

David holds a BA hons Business Management degree from Nottingham Business School. After growing up around the world, David became engrossed in travel and the adventure of finding new places. He is also an avid sportsman participating in triathlons and coaching tennis.

Maila Reeves

UK Editor of The Next Women | Twitter LinkedIn

Maila is currently the UK editor of TheNextWomen, a leading international business magazine for female entrepreneurs, executives and investors.

She is a serial entrepreneur and has founded and mentored several start-ups. With her skills and further qualifications in interior architecture, she develops property and manages a diverse international property portfolio.

She holds a Masters in Law and whilst not practising, is a member of both The Bar Council and The Law Society.

Mihai Mifteianu

President at Cronian Group | Twitter LinkedIn

Mihai is a serial entrepreneur who is mentoring in some of the more prominent accelerator and incubator programs in Europe, while sitting on the board of a group of companies in New Europe. He has previously co-founded tech startups in mobile healthcare, augmented reality, web publishing as well a number of mobile platforms in the real estate sector. He is most passionate about good products and mobile apps and a great deal about entrepreneurs building meaningful businesses.

Media Sponsors