The wait is over. We know you’ve been biting your nails in anticipation ever since those life-changing 54 hours came to a close at Fargo’s last Startup Weekend (watch Grassfire’s sweet video re-cap here).
Well, everyone can rest easy, because it’s official – Startup Weekend is hitting Fargo once again on March 27-29, 2015!
Raise your hand if you want go to Startup Weekend?!
Quick, mark your calendars! We’re giving you plenty of time to sanctify that weekend for pure, unadulterated brainstorming, team-building, and company-creating.
If you’re feeling very excluded right now and have no idea what’s going on, allow us to explain. Startup Weekend is a global event, powered in part by Google for Entrepreneurs, that gives contestants 54 hours to pitch a creative idea for a business, form a team, and then build on the idea to create a startup.
Essentially, it’s starting a company in 54 hours.
Jake Joraanstad at the Pitch Party for Startup Weekend ’14
“This is like the only time in Fargo, where you can stand up in front of a group of 120 people, and say ‘I have an idea. Here it is. What do you think?'” said Jake Joraanstad, co-founder of Myriad Mobile and Startup Weekend enthusiast. “It’s like 0 to 100 in 54 hours,”
The event is popular worldwide, and widely recognized as successful program to promote technology-based entrepreneurship in local communities.
T-shirts from past events sport phrases like “Less talking, more doing,” “You are not your user,” and “I created a company in 54hrs. What did you do last weekend?”
This will be Fargo’s third annual Startup Weekend; the event made its debut back in 2013, and the winning startup, Medytex, continues to grow and expand their business, bringing progressive technology into healthcare.
Startup Weekend 2014 saw the victory of Hack Fargo, a group that is “seeking to be a non-profit organization promoting and enabling the idea of open and accessible public data in the greater Fargo area.”
Some might recognize the name from the recent Hack Fargo hackathon that was a smash hit last week.
Blaine Booher presents Hack Fargo at Startup Weekend ’14
Also notable is last years second place winner, Handles Mug Co., which designed a double-barreled beer mug that makes the drinking experience that much more intimate.
Ben Milne, the CEO of Dwolla, was the keynote speaker of last year’s event. His feedback was nothing short of highest praise.
“I had no idea how much awesome was in #Fargo,” he tweeted. “Best Startup Weekend I’ve ever been to.”
There you have it, folks. Not only is Startup Weekend a killer event, but Fargo has one of the best if not THE best.
“We all have all these ideas running through our mind, like oh this would be kinda cool to do…someday,” said Startup Weekend attendee, Evan Balko. “Startup Weekend means now. Just do it now.”
What are you waiting for? Tickets are available here.
Photos courtesy of J. Alan Paul Photography.
