Last weekend Bryant University hosted the New England Startup Weekend, a 54-hour event for students and entrepreneurs to break out their “back-pocket ideas” and pound out a business plan.
StartUp Weekend is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, first conceived in June 2007. To date, it has involved more than 15,000 entrepreneurs in more than 100 cities worldwide. The events recruit highly motivated developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing and communication experts, graphic artists and students.
Participants kick off the weekend with idea pitches and then decide whether to pursue their own idea or join a team. The weekends have led to the launch of more than 560 startup ventures.
Providence Business News spoke with Cary Collins, Bryant University trustee professor of entrepreneurship, and the “mover and shaker” behind the New England Startup Weekend.
PBN: First of all, how did the weekend go?
COLLINS: The New England Startup Weekend in Rhode Island had an incredibly strong showing for a first-time event with respect to several areas: the number of participants (with 60 entrepreneurs ranging in age from 17 to 50). We had dozens of seasoned entrepreneur mentors either in attendance or ready at a moment’s notice to advise the teams at New England Startup Weekend via phone, e-mail and text throughout the weekend and had a strong showing by the number of colleges and universities who participated at one time.
We had some incredibly promising business models coming out of this event.
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The Startup Weekend is an amazing opportunity to connect with other passionate and skilled entrepreneurs or even find a collaborator to transform an idea into reality after the event has concluded.
PBN: How does New England Startup Weekend fit into the ongoing entrepreneurial activities in Rhode Island?
COLLINS: Rhode Island is a truly unique place when it comes to entrepreneurial activity, mainly because we are resource-rich when it comes to mentoring and counsel we can give to burgeoning ventures through these talented and skilled professionals.
I have lived throughout the United States, and have also worked as an entrepreneur in the technology sector, and I have never seen a place where entrepreneurs have banded together to support good ideas getting launched, student entrepreneurs and leading entrepreneurs from outside of the state. We are building quite a reputation as one of the most collaborative entrepreneurial communities in the U.S. – if not the world – through activities such as: Betaspring, Better World by Design, Change Accelerator and Research Alliance.
I am also pleased to see even more connections taking place on the college campuses throughout the state. Several months ago, entrepreneurial faculty at our institutions of higher education began meeting to better connect their students and each other to the resources and individuals available to assist them. As a next step, we would like to see the student-run entrepreneurial organizations on each campus get better acquainted for the same reason: the more connected we are, the more we can assist one another, which will lead to more viable startups being created and even greater job growth.
Individuals [such as] Barrett Hazeltine, of Brown University, have stood out as phenomenal mentors for our entrepreneurial community, and I am pleased to say that the standard that he set decades ago has ultimately led to more entrepreneurial talent coming to the state and serving as mentors and advisers today.
There has been an increasing amount of research done on the importance of mentorship and all signs point to the fact that entrepreneurs covet that above any other form of support. This places Rhode Island at an advantage within the global entrepreneurial community.
PBN: What kinds of ideas ended up coming out of this event?
COLLINS: The surprise-and-impromptu idea was actually a 17-year-old high school student who traveled from out-of-state to Rhode Island (as she is looking to attend Bryant next year) with a mobile device application, Cross Campus. Her application helps visitors and new students find their way around college campuses with a personalized mobile GPS system. The idea came out of her frustration getting lost on campus while on a recent college tour. Her team finished 2nd overall, which was great!
The top finishers were: 1st place went to Lunch Blocks, a consumer product representing a stylish lunch box of the future for those individuals on-the-go who have packed wet and dry ingredients for lunch (e.g., granola and yogurt and salad with salad dressing).
3rd place went to Werk Warrior, a web application that turns everyday work into engaging games by integrating with the systems companies already use to track activities and progress.
To be honest, I was impressed with all of the ideas.
PBN: What kind of feedback have you received from the participants in New England Startup Weekend? Would you do it again?
COLLINS: Throughout the weekend we heard feedback from our participants that they found it to be an incredibly useful event for those serious about launching a new venture, and would recommend it to their friend’s colleagues in the future.
They were most amazed by the level of support they were able to receive from industry veterans such as Allan Tear (Betaspring), Joshua Bob (Textaurant), Owen Johnson (Betaspring), Andy Cutler (Cutler & Co.), Sandra Potter (Bryant University), TJ Sondermann (BatchBlue), Jon Mason (SwingJuice), Lisa DiCarlo (Babson College) and newcomers to the community of entrepreneurs such as, Walker Williams (Jobzle) as well as other industry and academic contacts who could further help these new ventures progress their respective models.
This helped them to tremendously expand their networks, which will serve [the entrepreneurs] for years to come.
Given the feedback we have received from participants and staff, we will make this an annual event.
PBN: What important lessons did you take away from the weekend?
COLLINS: I believe the most important lesson coming out of the Startup Weekend was the power of our state’s entrepreneurial contacts and connections. It was incredible to watch it in action. We are lucky to have world-class talent here, but also a good number of entrepreneurs who are willing to give of their time, and share advice and introductions to their networks in a way that is simply invaluable for startups.
Talent attracts future talent, and that being the case, we were able to showcase local and regional talent who are now better connected to Rhode Island.
Rhode Island’s New England Startup Weekend was led by Bryant University and supported by Betaspring, the Rhode Island Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Brown University, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Rhode Island.
