Startup Weekend Boulder - The Wisdom Edition
Organizers Jon Rossi, Dave Mayer and Matt Bernier did an amazing job of assembling a strong group of entrepreneurial folks to serve as mentors and judges during Startup Weekend Boulder 5. Although it was virtually impossible to record every single piece of insightful information these folks offered I tried to capture some of the best below. Good advice for all entrepreneurs and startup dreamers.
Micah Baldwin, Graphic.ly
- As Brad Feld says, there are lots of things you measure but only 2 that really matter. Figure out what they are and make sure everything relates back to them.
Duleepa Wijayawardhana, Empire Avenue
- Don't worry about failure. You'll succeed just because you try. Well, do.
Nicole Glaros, TechStars
- Know your market. Understand the pain points of your market and build around it. If you do, you will be successful.
- Be intellectually honest. Listen with unbiased ears. It's hard to do when someone tells you your baby is ugly but if you do this, you will be successful.
Eric Marcoullier, One True Fan
- If you have to fix a feature, get rid of it.
Ari Newman, Jive Software
- Simplify your model. As he said to one team, "There's so much I think my head just exploded."
- Consider going after a large market because it will be more forgiving when you fail. And you will.
Niel Robertson, Trada
- Make sure you build marketing metrics into the product right up front. Having a data-driven development approach will allow you to scale faster.
Jon Rossi, Startup Weekend Boulder
- Help each other out and keep the momentum going.
Chris Vieville, Snap Engage
- Build social gaming into your product but watch out for being too gimicky.
John Wright, Quick Left
- Find a product that cannot fail and that makes sense.
My own advice
When coming up with a name make sure it's available on all the necessary outlets (URL, Twitter, etc.) and grab it quickly. Make it easy for people to find you.
And finally...
Don't play at it. Play full out and do it for real.