I previously posted about Bloomington Startup Weekend. Before I get too far into this I should disclose that I did not stay for the entire weekend. The event started at about 6pm Friday night and was scheduled to end Sunday at 11pm. I left at about 4:30pm on Saturday. Why did I leave? The top reason is stamina. The process of building a business in just over 48 hours is pretty intense. It definitely took a toll on me.

Facilities

I heard that this was the most technologically advanced facility used in any of the 15 startup weekends so far. That’s not hard for me to believe. The main room had several large screens and microphones conveniently placed throughout the room. There was even a camera aimed down on a desk at a side of the room that would project an image onto the large screens. So you could drop a notebook down in front of the camera and just start writing or drawing as you were talking.

Turn Out

Some of the technology (especially the microphones) was critical because there were 100 people who signed up. Actually, there were additional people who wanted to come, but were turned away. My understanding is this is a much larger number of people than have been present at any of the previous startup weekends.

Right after fatigue, this is the second biggest reason why I didn’t stick around through Sunday night. There were so many people involved that there just wasn’t enough time for everyone’s ideas to be heard. I was in the group in charge of PR and marketing. That group started with over 10 people, and there were at least 5 I never heard speak. Things were just moving too quickly to give everyone a chance to talk.

Dead Time

Even though things moved at a rapid pace, there were still chunks of time when I wasn’t sure what I could be doing. Here’s where my review of the event really suffers from my leaving early. At the beginning of the weekend when we were still trying to define what our product was, it was hard to do much marketing work. I suspect that by the second half of the weekend there was a lot more PR work going on.

Ignoring Experience

Andrew, the founder of startup weekend has been through this many times in the last 6 months. Although he mostly left us to create things on our own, he did share his opinion here and there. When we were brainstorming concepts for the business on Friday night, there was one in particular that he thought was interesting and had good potential. He wasn’t stressing that to the group, but you could tell which one he would vote for. The group didn’t even vote it into the top 3.

Ideas

It was fascinating to watch people become invested and attached to ideas. Most of Friday night was spent listening to people’s suggestions for the focus of the business. There were a couple guys who became really frustrated with the process. I could read exactly what they were thinking from the looks on their faces. This idea is so awesome. Why can’t I make anyone see what a great idea this is? I feel like they are intentionally misunderstanding what I’m saying.

Hanging Betsy Out to Dry

My wife’s sister was also part of the PR group for the Bloomington startup. There was a certain camaraderie we shared during those first 22 hours. I totally bailed on her, though. In fact I learned late Sunday night that everyone else had bailed on her, too. She was the sole representative of PR in the final leg. You’re a trooper, Bets!

Conclusions

There’s talk about doing a Startup Weekend in Indianapolis, which would be a little closer to home. Would I go? I’m not sure. I’d be interested in knowing what the cap was. If there were going to be 100 people again, I would definitely pass. If the group were around 30 or 40, I’d consider it. Despite the crush of bodies, it was a novel experience.

I also have to wonder if I would have stuck the weekend out if I had been more passionate about the concept that the group chose. The concept the group ended up choosing is kind of cool, but it wasn’t something I wanted to trade a whole weekend for.

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