Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
I SMILE BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON
Friday 7th of November 2014
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
3 THINGS THAT WILL MAKE YOU ROCK AT STARTUP WEEKEND Connect with your customers All startups that still exist today have created something that people are willing to pay for. Easier said than done. “Why would people give you their hard-earned money?” The answer is: when you make their lives easier or more enjoyable. It’s not enough to just know how you can make their lives better; you’ve got to feel it. So talk to them, study them, observe them, do whatever it takes. And yes, doing this is scary. They might criticize you and make you for a fool. But I’ll promise you one thing: It looks scarier than it is. So, like Nike states so effectively: Just do it. Make your idea real, do it fast and do it on a shoestring Back in the days IBM wanted to make computers more accessible to a broader public. They were thinking about investing in speech-to-text technology. Talking to a computer instead of typing was going to be the next big thing. To validate their idea they asked people to type something by just saying it to a computer. The words appeared automatically in their screens. It was magical! What happened was a typist sitting in another room and typing every-
thing she heard. With that simple test, IBM learned a great deal of interesting stuff. Although people were wowed in the beginning, after a while, people got a sore throat and worried about privacy issues. IBM concluded that this would not go mass-market. It saved them a lot of money. Think like the people from IBM. Come up with a first rough prototype version of your product. Test it and get some early feedback. Take your new insights to come up with something that’s even better. Build a great team with an even greater purpose We all know these stories about Steve Jobs, Richard Branson or Tony Hsieh. All amazing and extraordinary people. But be real, they didn’t build their companies alone,
they surrounded themselves with a great team. So build that team. Get to know the dreams, hopes and frustrations of each team member. Respect the value everyone brings by thinking differently. It’s never personal; it always gives a richer perspective on things. A team is more than a bunch of individuals. Share your common purpose and be clear of what needs to be done. Work hard and schedule several short meetings during this weekend. Don’t ask when it’s done, ask what they need to get it done. Withhold your judgement. You will get the best results when all team members can flourish. If you do all this I’m sure, you will rock during startup weekend.
Stefan Wobben
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
READY FOR LIFT OFF 54 hours from concept to launch. WOW!! Now thats something. Startup weekend 2014 kicked off last evening with a flurry of pitched ideas - 46 to be precise. 16 have survived the voting process. Het Kasteel is buzzing with activity once more. And it’s great to see the building brimming with enthusiasm and energy we have come to expect from a Startup Weekend. It’s 1.30 am and we hear music blaring somewhere in the building so things sound very upbeat already. A generous amount of developers, designers, marketers and creatives form this diverse group of participants. A similar bunch of people will be coming together in 32 cities all over the world this weekend with the same goals - building teams, validating ideas and taking the first steps in launching a business. When you read this, it will be day 2 and you will be figuring out ways to validate your ideas. You will be talking to your customers and finding ways to prove your idea. You will be designing, solving an actual problem... You will finally be building something. Its a lot to accomplish in the next two days but we know you’ll be awesome. We can say confidently that in the process you will be building networks (maybe even everlasting friendships), learning new skills, connecting with potential business partners, testing ideas and gaining insights from coaches. That sounds like a real busy weekend. But nonetheless make the most of it. And most of all: ask questions!! The only stupid ones are the ones you don’t ask.
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
WHATS THE BIG IDEA?? From button fetishes to loving your grandma and also wanting to launch a rocket... 43 Ideas were pitched in total. We present (in no particular order) the 16* that made it through.
Friday 7th of November 2014
YOU’RE PART OF THE ‘PAY IT FORWARD’ CULTURE
1. Journey (backpack) 2. Wall-street quality research made for students 3. I love my grandma 4. Free drinking app 5. Travel for free 6. Fictional Branding for movie/gaming industry 7. City Tiles 8. Wannamakes – design workshops 9. Work floor for Werewolves 10. Bargain hunts 11. CRM the other way around 12. Holi Spices 13. Screensaver that gives you inspiration 14. Online tool that matches candidates on their personality and skills 15. Wham Bam Zero buttons! 16. Helping people with Autism * Most of the groups are still brainstorming and do not have final names for their projects yet. We will update them in the upcoming journals as and when we get to know of them.
Mentor Sebastiaan Hooft expects nothing in return Since 2012 I live in San Francisco for a couple of months per year. My DNA is designed to live in Silicon Valley. I share the love for technology, the desire to change the world and the power to think big. But the one the thing I love most is the ‘pay it forward’ culture. Experienced entrepreneurs feel the moral obligation to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of entrepreneurs. It’s is the exact same reason why I’m a mentor at Startup Weekend. This weekend you’ll find an experienced team of organizers, partners and mentors ready to pass on their knowledge. They expect nothing in return. It’s their contribution to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. So don’t hesitate to pick the brain of a mentor. Don’t hesitate to ask for resources from partners. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance from the organizing team. Starting this weekend you’re part of the ‘pay it forward’ culture. Your only obligation is a moral one; to pass on your Startup Weekend knowledge to the next generation.
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
TODAY’S SCHEDULE Lauren Valbert Owner and Entrepreneur @ Empowering Management
Stefan Wobben Co-founder @ Concept7
Empowering Management is an entrepreneurial consultancy helping businesses with customer development, business development, and marketing. Customer centrism is the philosophy behind the company’s focus: how do companies attract, retain, and motivate the customers that will make their business successful and profitable? She works with companies to create customer profiles, which then are tested and validated, and which can then be used to build growth-oriented business and product development strategies. She has had her fair share of helping businesses bloom. A perfect addition as coach at Startup Weekend Groningen!
Stefan is co-founder and usability expert at Concept7. He is very passionate when it comes to creating user (internet ) experiences. He understands complex situations and knows how to translate this in a simple manner. When Stefan is not busy making the world a better place, he likes to travel and do sports. His knowledge and numerous examples make him a good mentor for Startup Weekend Groningen!
08:00 am Doors open 08:30 am Breakfast 09:00 am work work work! 10:00 am Mentors become available 01:00 pm Lunch 06:30 pm Dinner 11:00 pm Doors close, but teams inside can continue working like heroes
AS FLEXIBLE AS LEAD DOOR Conference and meeting center Het Kasteel, each day unique.
on that! About the amount of guests, their catering and time and place for coffee/tea, lunch and drink – we don’t have to say a word.
Isn’t it everyone’s dream to have a job where each task is always the same? No surprises, no sudden changes, Because we agreed on it comno challenges, no experipletely, right?” menting. In short, “Just doin’ your thing”. I wish you (like I do to everyone) a very nice day An other person’s dream... but a in “het Kasteel” without total nightmare for me. any surprised, changes and challenges. We are also “Good morning ma’am, you not going to experiment by are right on time. changing anything so we Just as we agreed. I precan challenge ourselves... pared the room just like we discussed. Like we agreed, Suddenly I wake up from what we are not going to make any appears to be a nightmare. more changes. We agreed No challenge + no surprises +
no changes + no experiment- unique location. ing = NO KASTEEL On behalf of “het Kasteel” I wish Luckily, you are all working you all a fantastic weekend! on Startup Weekend, which means that “het Kasteel” still Your host, strives to give you, our guests whatever it is you require– Erik de Jonge succeeding in fulfilling your (King of the castle) every need, every single day that you are here. We can do the impossible right away, but if you want a miracle you’ll have to wait a while. STARTUP = challenge + surprises + change + experimenting and of course heaps of good food and nice drinks in a beautiful and
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
Pieter Vissers Region Manager @ Heineken
Pieter Billiau Region Manager @ Heineken
Arjan Yspeert is an Internet marketeer with a broad experience in the use of offline marketing tools as well. Travels up and down between strategy, tactical and operational activities. Tactics and operations meaning traffic and conversion improvement for websites and apps: seo, sea, linkbuilding, affiliate, e-mailshots, social media campaigning and the likes. Deeply interested in mentoring internet start-ups (webapps) as they ‘blow his mind’. He loves to see young, bright developers, designers and marketeers come together in an effort to improve software and take the world by storm.
Since 2013 Pieter is responsible as regional manager hospitality industry for the organization and management of the sales office in the north of the Netherlands. He puts the sales policy for the brands in their portfolio and takes care of their implementation. His days are alternately in the office and in hospitality industry. The entrepreneurs who he has contact with make the difference on the business market. During my time at HEINEKEN I have been actively developing sales promotion concepts in the Netherlands and the rollout of a sponsorship activity Asia. Startup Weekend Groningen is something that really speaks to him because of the energy, the innovation and the entrepreneurs.
After Pieter graduated he started working at HEINEKEN and here he’s gained experience in trade marketing and sales. In it he has been engaged in setting up promotional activities in the Netherlands. He has also contributed to a route to market analyze their largest market in Africa, Nigeria. For almost two years now he is a regional manager for Brabant sales area. Next to managing the sales offices he also expands and executes the brand policies together with his account managers. He spends 50% of the time with entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry. This energizing environment intrigues and inspires him, because he loves innovation, surprise and development. This is exactly the reason why he is looking forward to helping out others at Startup Weekend Groningen.
Patrick Loonstra Group: naamloos.app So, where’s your team? Were just with the two of us. Herman Kopinga and me. How did that happen? Hehehe... We don’t know. Can you tell me your idea in three sentences? We want to use screen savers on unused computer screens to display images that inspire. All images are possible. You can choose to display your own tumbler collection, or all random pictures within a theme. For example - ‘holiday’.
Since you’re with only two, do you need help? Yes! We need a developer. An evening person would be great and also one who likes mushrooms so he or she can eat mine when they are served here for dinner. But otherwise... Nick Stevens gave us a great trip to go outside and look for 10 costumers so we can pay a develloper. So that’s what we might do tomorrow. What are your plans for this evening? We already found one potential buyer here in Het Kasteel so we’re going to look to find this costumer. Fill in the business canvas and think of a good name for our project. Is that all? Yes and then we will be done for today.
I spy • 3 pairs of shoes for 3 days of AWESOMENESS
INTERVIEW
Arjan Yspeert Owner @ YA! Internet Marketing
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
I spy • I like to whisk it all up before lay it out on a dish.
MOODCHART Keep track of how you feel during the weekend. Your mood might swing from feeling like dog shit, to being on the verge of something great, to feeling absolutely fabulous. Fill in how you feel each day and you will have a perfect overview of your ups en down during Startup Weekend 2014, great for your personal journal. Start you chart! What’s your mood? …a small kid who has just jumped into a huge pile of fresh snow …a hungry monkey who has just discovered a tree full of banana’s …a perfectly straight line, not up not down
…I just took a bite of a perfect apple and then found out it’s totally rotten on the inside …locking myself into a room with the darkest heavy metal on repeat
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Sebastiaan Hooft Founder @ Maschile Ventures Sebastiaan is the founding partner of a number of organizations, and has been active on the advisory boards of all of them at some time. Mid 2008 he founded Maschile Ventures, a boutique venture capital company. Since 2012 he envisions and realizes pop-up projects, which by design have a discreet life cycle. Next to this he is a personal mentor for entrepreneurs and CEO’s. The three things he personally cares about are entrepreneurship, internet and health. Also, he’s a DJ!
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Eelco Bakker Chairman @ Foundation ‘De Noorderlingen’ Over the last 5 years he has developed several entrepreneurship programs for Universities and local governments (De Noorderlingen, TopProgramma Drenthe). Within these programs they combine aspects of lean start-up, effectuation and a coaching and expert support program. Next to these programs he supports businesses that are in need of (growth) capital, to find an informal investor or start-up a crowdfunding campaign. Over the years he has seen thousands of ideas, hundreds of start-ups and dozens of succesfull businesses. His goal is to support start-up entrepreneurs in the early stage, get them to search for the right businessmodel, but also develop their personal skillset.
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Jeroen Sprangers Owner/Partner @ Rein Advocaten en Adviseurs Jeroen Sprangers is no ordinary lawyer. He is the owner of REIN Advocaten and as founder of Cannonballs he arranges unusual events and trips for entrepreneurs. As a lawyer he specialises in restructuring organisations, and is expert in the laws of bankruptcy, information technology and intellectual property. As the managing partner of his law firm he is often consultant to companies about corporate and strategic development, he has an interest in the growth of entrepreneurship, new inventions and startups. Above all he is a sharp and pragmatic thinker. This weekend he will not only be a judge, but also a mentor! Make use of his legal knowledge.
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Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
Friday 7th of November 2014
DISPATCHES FROM A SPY SAY WHAT?! Participant: “Ok, I’ll probably go home and play GTA tomorrow all day” Joost Nuijten, our Startup Weekend Photographer, when it’s almost time to pitch: “I’m going to build up the tension and stick my lens in their faces” Participant: “I love buttons, I have a button fetish.” Stephanie van der A: “It’s awkward that apparently everybody thinks I’m so hugable” Nick Stevens: “Wanna eat my sausage???” Participant: “I love grandma”
#1 This is my first time at Startup Weekend. I’ve printed at least 300 business cards, triple-checked all of the information and updated all my digital profiles. I have no idea what to expect. When I arrive, there’s people everywhere. A guy wants to take my picture. Fine. I have to pick a sign with a hippish word. I take something which has to do with rainbows and try to smile. After that, I get a goodiebag with a (blue) t-shirt, a sweatband and some SAUS stuff. Awesome. Feels like home. There is a drink. People are reading the booklets they’ve just received. They don’t seem to be particularly interested in it though. I miss my mom. The dinner starts. There is a choice from vegetarian, not-so vegetarian lasagna, sausages and salad. But then the hard part. There is bread, but with the bread, there is an olive spread. Quite okay. But what to think about aioli. I know what aioli is made of. It’s a mayonnaise-like liquid with a lot of garlic in it. I take it. Maybe I’ll regret this choice later, because I still have to have conversations with lots of people. But for now, I need my comfort food. Then. The pitches. What to expect. I like about 20% of them. I get three post-its, which I evenly distribute over my favourites. None of them win, which is a pity. After that, I take my place in a team. I cannot say too much about the team I’m in, because that would tell everyone who I am. Nevertheless, it’s interesting enough. Designers, businesspeople and developers all want to help to make this idea work. I’m wondering what tomorrow will bring. I hope there’s going to be lots of coffee. See you tomorrow.
Het Kasteel Melkweg 1
Startup Journal Day 01
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING
So here you all are. You’ve formed your group and found a place to put your heads together. Great! We guess you all got to know each other yesterday and so you know who is a winner in marketing and who will make your product look beautiful and who will make that winning app.
Friday 7th of November 2014
But how can you be of maximum use to your group? Before you heard out 46 pitches, we hope you were not too busy with repeating your own pitch inside your head like a hindu monk repeating his mantra over and over again. In his introduction, Nick Stevens parted with a lot of tips about testing your ideas for viability. We at the Saus press corner are not a very bad bunch of people, so we’ll repeat for you something that is very valuable, “GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!!”
Leave the confines of your mind, reach beyond the knowledge of your group, leave your work room and go o u t s i d e. Not only will a breath of fresh air clear your head, but the world outside Het Kasteel has something important to offer and that is your target group. Talk to your costumers, ask them if they are familiar with your problem and in which way they are confronted by it. Let them know your solution and get to know if they like it. Also: Don’t forget to ask why? That’s a question you can ask for every answer you have.
I am really impressed about the ideas I’ve heard tonight. I noticed all the ideas have some element of fun in them.
INTERVIEW
What do you want to get out of this weekend? I’ve been an entrepreneur for some time now and I will try my best to share my knowledge and experiences as best as possible.
Niek Giavedoni Entrepreneur since he was 14 years old. Group: Love your granny Is this your first SW? Yes, I think it’s getting better and better. It’s getting better? At first you thought it wasn’t? I really didn’t know what to expect and I actually came here to get some input for a product I developed (www.spotonwifi.nl).
How did you and your group start off ? We did a round of introductions and after that we talked about the idea. We brainstormed about what direction we could go in. What is the core value behind the idea? To bring back human tangibility in society. Especially for older people. It is sometimes hard for them to follow what the world around them is up to. My grandparents live in Italy and it would be fantastic to connect them to more that is happening in my life.
I spy • There hangs a swine but counts not at all beyond 9