All prices shown are in New Zealand dollars and inclusive of GST.
Startup Weekends are weekend-long, hands-on experiences where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if startup ideas are viable. On average, half of Start Up Weekend's attendees have technical or design backgrounds, the other half have business backgrounds. Age and experience are no barrier. Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, using lean startup practices and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts. During the weekend the participants are fully supported by expert mentors and an organising support crew who keep them fed, watered and cared for. While the focus is on startups, and successful startups have launched from Startup Weekend, the real magic is in the learn-by-doing aspect of this immersive experience. It is in the human development each participant goes through. It is not over stretching things to say that this event has positively changed peoples lives and altered career paths. "NZ inc." is better off for the resilience that this event builds in its attendees.
