Ann Arbor Startup Weekend June 19, 2008

We're putting our heads and our ideas and our skills together to launch startup companies in one marathon weekend. Startup Weekend has been bringing these exciting, community-building weekends to cities all across the country.

More than 100 people from all kinds of industries and skillsets will launch 10-12 companies. Friday night we'll vote on ideas and choose the top dozen or so. After that, you'll be able to choose which idea/team you want to work on and spend the rest of the weekend putting everything together for a launch. When all is said and done, you'll be a co-founder of an honest-to-goodness startup.

We need all kinds of participants! We need idea people, marketing people, design people, technical people, business people, etc.; everyone can put their skills to work in creating these new companies. And this is a perfect time to try out something new - if you're a techie who'd like to try graphic design or an accountant who'd like to try a little marketing, this is an excellent opportunity to expand your horizons.

Through the enormously generous support of McKinley, Inc., we'll be holding the event in office space at Liberty Square, next to the McKinley Towne Centre. There's plenty of room for us to spread out, good access to public transportation, as well as easy parking.



The registration page will ask you to choose a general area of skill that you're interested in. You are free to choose whatever you'd like to work on, and during the weekend, you'll be free to explore different roles on the team(s) you're working on. Think of the choice as an indication of general direction, not a declaration that locks you into a certain role. Pick what you would like to spend your weekend doing, not necessarily what you do for your day job.

FAQ
Why should I attend?
1. Be a part of your local tech community, help build it and connect people.

2. What did you do last weekend? Experience an amazing energy, it could change your life.

3. Meet brilliant, amazing, motivated people. Find people that you know can work hard, finish projects and work well with an unknown landscape. Find a cofounder.

4. Be a part of something bigger, get excited.

5. When is the last time you had a challenge such as launching a company in 54 hours with 100 or so strangers? When is the last time you saw your company on the front page?

(more reasons and links at startupweekend.com/reasons-to-attend/ )

Are you starting real companies?
Yes. If you have an idea, you can find a team to make it reality. And if you have skills, you can join a team and be a part of something new and exciting.

What happens after the weekend?
Each team will decide for itself how to proceed. It may be that the team continues work on weekends, or some other structure or plan that works for everyone involved.

Official Website: http://annarbor.startupweekend.com