Comments on: Startup Weekend’s Most Recent Startup: Skribit

By: What is Skribit? - PaulStamatiou.com

What is Skribit? - PaulStamatiou.com — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:28:21 +0000

[...] I haven’t really talked about Skribit in any depth yet, so this shall be my Skribit 101 post. Skribit is a web application sprouting from my idea along with many talented co-founders at Startup Weekend Atlanta. First off, I’ll tell you what it isn’t. Skribit is not some blog commenting system as others have believed it to be. [...]

By: Startup Weekend San Francisco In Full Swing

Startup Weekend San Francisco In Full Swing — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:52:21 +0000

[...] covered Startup Weekend Atlanta a week ago. Now the team has rolled in to San Francisco for a multi-day event with the single goal [...]

By: J.Brown

J.Brown — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:49:15 +0000

Wonder how many citiies have this event?

By: Kara Andrade

Kara Andrade — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:49:08 +0000

From a journalist’s point of view, I think this kind of collaboration and innovation is what I’m looking forward to replicating in journalism circles as a way to create more business models and for training. I’ve learned so much in the way people can work together as a team and it gives me hope for people’s larger interests in building community.

By: David Cohen

David Cohen — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:22:59 +0000

it’s been incorrectly stated a few times that Startup Weekend somehow arose out of TechStars. This isn’t the case.

Detailed post below if you’re interested.

http://techstarsblog.com/2007/.....p-weekend/

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:34:01 +0000

Its funny how so many people miss the point.

StartupWeekend is about learning, community, and FUN, its more of a social experiment then anything else. As a founder at Atlanta Startupweekend I was blown away by the talent here in Atlanta and the skilled startup community, virtually everyone there had their own startup projects of sorts they were working on before showing up. But they took time away to meet other local entrepreneurs, have some discussions, and build some code along the way.

Working together with a team of guys who you’ve never met before, all with different programming backgrounds and different language preferences we really pulled off building Skribit in under 30 hours of development time. Not a line of code was written Friday, just planning and idea discussion. We didn’t even have a final idea of what we were going to build until 11PM! Then Saturday 9 to 11 work was started on the framework and then we had Sunday 9 to 12 to go into live beta … that was it.

All that said I’d love to attend every Startupweekend if I had the time… even if I never received a penny for my efforts. That’s the whole point. Community, Fun, and Learning.

By: I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog

I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:54:43 +0000

If you were laying bets as to what a startup designed by comittee would look like, “a social software widget that allows bloggers to take suggestions directly from their readers” would be the odds-on favourite. So now collaboration-obsessed startups are collaborating to form a startup based on collaboration. Web 2.0 has finally disappeared up its own tailpipe.

Why the pessimism about it getting funding? Is it not going to make any money? When did that ever bother Web 2.0 investors?

By: Extraface

Extraface — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:36:06 +0000

Atlanta Startup Weekend Is A Success, Skribit Launches…

Congratulations to the Startup Weekend Atlanta crew. I was only there for part of Friday night, but I’ve been following the action (and the drama) on the Startup Weekend blog. Anyone who can endure an entire weekend of wall-to-wall effort with a …

By: Jameson

Jameson — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:09:46 +0000

Love Andrew… very smart kid. Been privileged to have seen this whole process progress and I’m continuously impressed by the positive (not cashflow) outcomes at each event.

By: Amro Mousa

Amro Mousa — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:50:48 +0000

Doing this was a lot of fun.

By: Pankaj Shroff

Pankaj Shroff — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:06:11 +0000

I am a founder of DeskHappy.com which was launched at the Boston event. Watching Andrew and his team co-ordinate this whirlwind of an event is a treat. Its amazing when you disappear in a room for a couple hours working on something, walk out of the room and see that theres lunch waiting for you at the table. Not to mention the relaxing stretching exercises after each status update. Really created an atmosphere for wanting to create something, build something. It was very inspiring and motivating. Besides creating the right motivational and collaborative environment, I think the other important thing about this format is it forces you to work towards a goal frantically as a team. So if there are any inefficiencies as a team they get worked out of the system very very fast. I have been in other startup mode companies and the sad thing they remain in startup mode for 3 4 5 years because they never really learn to move fast. I think there should be a rule, if you are more than a year old, you shouldnt be called a startup. If you ask Andrew, if you’re over a weekend old, you’re old news! Truly inspiring. Great Job Andrew, a long tail of micro-ventures for a long tail of applications and services…For those who dont know what it means search “Long Tail” on Amazon. Andrew totally gets it and Startup Weekend does too.

By: Peter Fasano

Peter Fasano — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:50:07 +0000

I am just coming off the adrenaline buzz that was Startup Weekend Atlanta. There was little doubt that this group would be able to form and execute to produce our company and product Skribit.

This format should be a required agency or corporate exercise to get focused, have fun and challenge your talented staff to this sort of boot camp. Andrew offered excellent leadership and facilitation to keep the momentum and positive vibe.

Congratulations to the Skribit co-founders and to all of the past Startup Weekend crew. I am looking forward to supporting our efforts and tracking future success.

By: fewquid

fewquid — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:33:56 +0000

As Andrew himself said, it’s primarily about shaking up the community. When I participated in SW Chapel Hill, I met a bunch of new people and I’ll be working with them again in the future.

I totally agree that a “real” company cannot be built in a weekend. But I think Andrew is proving that the first year of a startup can be boiled down to a weekend.

Some of the ideas are better than others, and some are more fundable. But then that’s true of startups as a whole.

I gained a great deal out of participating, and most of the others that were there would agree.

By: Nate Clark

Nate Clark — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:53:00 +0000

Skribit is live now!!

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:22:45 +0000

I’ve participated in 2 startup weekends as well, and love the energy the event creates. If you’ve got the guts, and feel like busting your ass to put something out in less than 60 hours, this is the challenge for you.

Helping co-found Skribit (with 45+ others) has been an unbelievable experience, and I’m proud we have been able to launch the site.

Kudo’s to all fellow SW’ers

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:46:00 +0000

Pone!

By: Fabian Schonholz

Fabian Schonholz — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:40:09 +0000

@21 - Totally agree.

By: Alfred Toh

Alfred Toh — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:14:38 +0000

More from their press release:
http://skribit.s3.amazonaws.co.....11-11.html

Anyway, nothing promising has came out of StartUpWeekEnd. And the equity shares are not always equal, different groups have adopted different contribution schemes, not the bulk of the equity will be dished out to a “so-called” management team who are in charged of moving the company post event.

By: Peter Corbett

Peter Corbett — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:57:34 +0000

I participated in DC StartupWeekend where we created http://www.holaneighbor.com.

Regardless of whether or not any of these startups reach a liquidity event, Mr. Hyde is creating a massive amount of value every weekend by connecting passionate individuals - and helping them work towards a common cause. Thanks for covering this Michael.

Good luck to the rest of you startupweekenders. You’ll need it (and a lot of caffeine)!

http://www.twitter.com/corbett3000

By: Laura "@Pistachio" Fitton

Laura "@Pistachio" Fitton — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:56:17 +0000

Boston co-Founder here. Good writeup — any pooing on the actual companies and ideas TOTALLY misses the point. Startup Weekend is about excitement, connection, community. I’d call it a 54 hour MBA program, complete with a great alumni network.

As for the Boston company, DeskHappy, it actually does have a good shot, and our weekend’s community is following through. I am surprised about that. It’s easy to be gung ho in each others’ presence, but the follow-up that I’ve seen underscores that real connections were made over that weekend.

Also worth noting, Andrew Hyde is DEFINITELY one to watch.

By: Joe Scharf

Joe Scharf — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:35:10 +0000

As one of the founders at the first Startup Weekend in Boulder, I can attest to the positive community building experience and general excitement that comes with a weekend. I have subsequently participated in SW Toronto, and watched from afar as Boston, DC, NY, Houston, Chapel Hill, Atlanta, and the many others were held. Each weekend and each company created is different. Some seem to have promise, some don’t. At the end though, the sense of accomplishment and connection to one’s co-founders is huge.

Startup Weekend is about execution. Working with new people, doing things you may not have tried yet, and leaving your comfort zone. At the end of the intense weekend, you will have formed connections to others that no simple networking event can match. You know who the amazing folks are, who you’d work with, and even those that you’d probably want to avoid. Should the development effort continue past the weekend and the company see an exit some day, that would just be the icing on the cake.

By: Edward Hwang

Edward Hwang — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:28:52 +0000

I’ve been lucky to be part of a few successful startups, and the energy and enthusiasm generated from this weekend are comparable to the environments at those places. It’s electric over here, even after three non-stop days, and it’s hard to imagine more talented and dedicated people. Many thanks to everyone, especially to the dozens of people still here and to Andrew Hyde for putting Startup Weekend together!

By: Jeremy Tanner

Jeremy Tanner — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:24:34 +0000

I’ve seen Andrew in action twice as a Startup Weekend co-founder in Boston and Boulder. It’s amazing the number of cities he’s been able to hit in 4 months. The weekends are a great time and the connections made are deep and lasting. A company that launches and flies is a bonus. I have no doubt a few will do just that.

Lastly a correction, Startup Weekend Boulder wasn’t a TechStars (not TechStarts) event, nor were any of the others, though quite a few of the TechStars have been among the founders.

By: meetingflex.com

meetingflex.com — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:23:16 +0000

If it is possible, one of these days you should give some coverage to Amit Guptas “Jelly”.

http://www.meetingflex.com
Blazing Fast Video Search………………………………………….:-) ———–:)

By: Brian Wynne Williams

Brian Wynne Williams — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:22:09 +0000

Glad this is on your radar, Mike. We (Viget) hosted the DC startup weekend a few weeks ago. 70+ people, 54 hours, some good ideas (and some less-good), lots of debate then lots of collaboration, good wii matches, pizza + beer, and what launched at midnight Sunday (holaneighbor.com) was insignificant compared to the experience of the weekend.

It’s about getting a community together — more barcamp than anything — with everyone focused on a central goal of launching a business. Regardless of how realistic it is to launch a “real” business in a weekend, participating was completely worthwhile. We learned some things, made some great contacts, and a lot of fun doing it.