Idaho Startup Weekend (Boise)

17 Ideas Pitched, 4 solid teams working – Day 1

#IdahoSW off to a great start! With a great intro and support from Don , from the Idaho Department of Commerce, we jumped into the pitches. Click the “Companies” button above to see the startups in progress!

We had 17 amazing ideas pitched tonight. We actually tried something new for the voting as well – After all pitches were done, we gave everyone in the room three $1 bills. We then gave them a few minutes to think about what they would do if they had to invest into the ideas by distributing the dollars as they saw fit. The result, about 6 clear ideas that had a stack of $1 bills behind them.

With a room of just over 30 people, we decided to narrow it down to 4 ideas. Some seriously great ideas! Now it’s a race to see what can be accomplished by Sunday night.

For the rest of Saturday and Sunday we will be helping teams determine strategy, find missing resources, and bring in some local pros to lend their mentoring/advice to help teams get the most accomplished as possible. The end goal is to have a proof of concept or working prototype by Sunday evening presentations.

What happens after the weekend? Everyone in the room has already begun discussing who they can be talking with, and we are taking note of who we can get engaged to help get these ideas really running.

Venture 360 Reports Free for attendees during event!

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

Hey everyone, this is a great tool to be able to check out during the startup weekend event. Although most people are not ready for funding, it is a good insight into what investors are looking for in the future!

Ask your facilitator for the Password!

OFFER:

All Startup Weekend attendees receive FREE ACCESS to the Venture 360 software application for the upcoming event. Venture 360 is the only Web-based venture analysis software that is used by professional investors (Angels and VCs) to assess the viability of investment opportunities. By understanding the methodology behind the tool, SW participants can accelerate the process of turning their ideas into fundable businesses. Talk to Marc or Clint for more details!

Pre-Event Email:

There isn’t always a strong understanding between entrepreneurs and investors, which is a huge problem if we expect innovation to lead the economic recovery (which we do). Venture 360 was created as a response to the lack of transparency in the early-stage investment process, and the application is quickly becoming the industry standard for assessing new ventures using a structured and consistent methodology.

Log in and spend some time getting to know the different categories and elements a new venture is assessed upon. By familiarizing yourself with the key points an investor will look at, you and your team for this weekend will have a strong nucleus of information on which your ideas can be built. By knowing what you need, or where you can fill in, the weekend will be far more productive for everyone!

For more information about Venture 360, go to venture360report.com or follow @venture360 for exclusive offers during the SW event.

In addition, our Analyst support resource found here:

http://northventure360.wordpress.com/

Also, there is a brief video of the tool in action found here:

http://www.venture360report.com/?page_id=115

Benefits of Participating in Idaho Startup Weekend

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

~~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
Every attendee will be entered to win one of five copies of Hummingbird 2 ($97 value)
Seed money!!!
FREE office space from Venga Works
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!!!!!!!!
Chance to win a Netbook (a small laptop for the nongeeks) from Twilio
Other super amazing, mind blowing stuff that our lawyer will not permit us to publish

Don’t wait!! Click here to sign up NOW!!!!! Use discount code “SW25″ and save $25. If you’re a student, it’s even more affordable.

Football and Startups!

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

What more needs to be said? It really is a beautiful thing…

We know there is an exciting game coming up, so come do it the tech way!

We will be watching the BSU vs. Idaho game during the event in a side room to make sure that everyone doesn’t miss the action. Of course with some snacks and drinks!

Start a company, watch some football, have some fun!

Looking forward to it!

Win a netbook from Twilio!

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

Twilio is teaming up with us for the weekend of November 13th through 22nd to encourage innovation with voice enabled applications, using our open API. If your team uses Twilio in any way over the course of the weekend, you’re eligible to win Netbooks for your team members.

How It Works

Startup Weekend teams range in size, so we will award the winning team with up to six Netbooks, along with other Twilio goodies. Startup Weekend teams in six cities will compete for the chance to win, and we’ll be blogging and tweeting about your projects throughout th weekend and beyond.

Get Motivated

Brainstorm Ideas for Your Project Pitch

Do you have a laundry list of projects you’ve been meaning to build, or are you drawing a blank? Either way, its time to begin generating ideas so you can decide what to pitch on Friday night.

Read About Past Twilio Projects at Startup Weekend

Boise Chamber Of Commerce and Boise Young Professionals Partnering to Support Idaho Startup Weekend

Posted by Startup Weekend Crew

We would like to welcome Boise Chamber of Commerce and Boise Young Professionals as supporting partners of Idaho Startup Weekend.

If you are a member of Boise Chamber, use “swchamber” as discount code and Boise Young Professionals use code “byp” to save $25 on your tickets to Idaho Startup Weekend.