Startup Weekend is a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, teams and communities. Come share ideas, form teams, and launch startups.
Ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
The professional and personal challenges, the high and lows, the failures and the success?
Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.
The non-profit organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. From Mongolia to South Africa to London to Brazil, people around the globe are coming together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.
All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.
Whether entrepreneurs found companies, find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5, everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now for the best weekend of your life!
Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups!
Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.
The non-profit organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. From Mongolia to South Africa to London to Brazil, people around the globe are coming together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.
All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.
Whether entrepreneurs found companies, find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5, everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now for the best weekend of your life!
Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow
Saturday
Oct 20
Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
Lunch
Call for needs & skills
Coaches help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
Dinner
Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow
Sunday
Oct 21
Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)
As EVP, Venture Management, Brodeur brings more than 18 years of startup and enterprise management experience to Tallwave where he overseas Tallwave’s portfolio of software, digital marketing and services companies. Brodeur’s responsibilities include vetting and selecting companies for Tallwave’s Venture Management group, and commercialization and capital development for portfolio companies. Commercialization includes strategic development, operational planning, and leadership development for portfolio company executives. Portfolio companies include: a leading digital marketing agency, a disruptive DOOH media company, a SaaS distintermediator in the CPG-to-C-store supply chain, and a leading-edge SEO tools company. Tallwave’s accelerator takes startups and early stage companies through its unique Minimum Viable Business™ (MVB) program where they undergo a rigorous validation process based on lean business and design thinking principles. This year, Tallwave will see more than 200 companies accepting two dozen of them into its MVB program. The top 2% of MVB candidates will be invited into Tallwave Venture Management. In addition to his venture management responsibilities, Brodeur leads Tallwave’s Marketing efforts, and works with the CEO and leadership team on Strategy and Corporate Development.
Brodeur currently serves the Advisory Boards for Arizona-based startups GreenNurture and In Our Genes, and on the Board of Directors for the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits. Past Board service includes Member, Executive Committee and Chairman roles with The Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, The Arizona Technology Council, The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona, Tech America (formerly the American Electronics Association), and The Governor’s Council on Innovation and Technology.
Curtis Gunn is Chairman of the Desert Angels, an angel investment group of over 80 accredited investors in Tucson, Az that review presentations from early stage startup companies looking for potential funding. Prior to this role, Curtis traveled the world competing as a professional cyclist riding for both US and Australian-based Professional Cycling teams. Previous to his life as a professional athlete, he was an entrepreneur founding and operating companies based in retail, Internet, healthcare and real estate. As an angel investor, Curtis has invested in over 30 different companies across a broad base of industries, technologies, and geographies.
Jim Goulka is the Managing Director of ATIF - Arizona Technology Investor Forum - the active angel group in Phoenix focused on companies developing new technologies. He is currently CEO of an early stage software company that offers project management tools for large enterprises. In the past he has been CEO of an angel backed software company (sold to Apple), a venture backed software company, and a national technology transfer entity that markets technologies developed by NASA and parts of the Department of Defense. He also took a large old line print publisher into digital publishing. Jim started his career in corporate finance at units of JPMorgan/Chase and Citibank. He has been an advisor to several early stage companies and a board member of both private companies and nonprofits. He holds two degrees from Yale.
Fred Von Graf
Senior Venture Manger at ASU Venture Catalyst
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Fred is a principle driven person with diverse interests in business, communications and technology. He melds his executive, people and project management background with 15 years of enterprise and startup experience with a focus on technologies, business development and digital marketing.
With a passion for startups Fred founded the LaunchSpot community coworking space and technology incubator in Tempe, Arizona. He is also the founder of the mobile gaming startup Hexxa, still in stealth mode it has over 100 business clients in testing. Fred also founded SocialMediaAZ.org, a driving force behind digital marketing for businesses in Arizona.
Fred’s business and technical experience is a perfect fit for his role as a Senior Venture Manger with ASU Venture Catalyst.
Steve Larsen is Entrepreneur in Residence at the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship at the Thunderbird School of Management in Glendale, Arizona.
Prior to that, he was co-founder and CEO of PhoneTell, Inc. and prior to PhoneTell, Larsen was co-founder and CEO of Krugle, Inc. Larsen has been part of several successful venture-backed startup companies
CJ Cornell is a veteran media industry executive, serial entrepreneur and educator with a long history of creating and marketing products in cable television, broadband, and other consumer media platforms.
Recently CJ Cornell was Professor of Digital Media & Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University’s Walter School of Journalism & Mass Communication, and Co-Director at the school’s Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, as well as ASU’s first full time Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
As a serial entrepreneur, CJ Cornell was a founder or part of the senior management team of more than a dozen successful startup ventures that collectively attracted over $250 million in private funding
Sean Tierney is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Shortsaleopedia, a nationwide resource for homeowners of distressed properties. Previously Sean co-founded JumpBox, Inc and currently serves as board member. He has over sixteen years of experience in technology startups having served in technical and administrative capacities in a handful of companies, including GoodNet, Inc. (acquired by Winstar, 1999), iTool, Inc (acquired by Onvia, 2001), SalesLogix (acquired by Sage, 2005) and Proscout, Inc. (privately held). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, and is a graduate and teacher for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation FastTrac Entrepreneurship series as well as recipient of the Arizona Republic “35 under 35" Entrepreneurs of the Year award in 2009.
Aaron Post is an marketing technologist that uses both web and mobile technologies to bring companies and their communities together. HTML 1.0 was the only requirement for working in the campus lab where music and videos could be downloaded for free (remember 1992), so began the career of Aaron.
Aaron spent a few years working with companies like Coke, Walmart, Hilton, Sysco Foods and may other fortune 500 companies before venturing out to work with startups. Focused on only working with passionate people Aaron has taught various web technologies, spoken at numerous events and is now working diligently on BarLock.
Beth Cochran specializes in media relations, social media strategy, and developing and implementing innovative and strategic communications plans for a variety of businesses.
Beth has worked with a variety of clients in industries ranging from food and beverage, cosmeceuticals, technology, nonprofit, pet care, and lifestyle. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She also serves on the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Phoenix chapter, and previously served on the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition (PACC911) board.
Aaron bootstrapped his first business 17 years ago on credit cards. His latest company is FastCustomer, a technology startup that lets you reach a real person in customer service at any major company without waiting on hold.
Aaron's companies and products have been used by millions of people and have been featured on CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC, and in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, WIRED magazine and TIME magazine.
He advises startups on funding, hiring and management, and growth strategy. Aaron lives in Flagstaff with his wife and 3 little ankle biters.
Michael Gillette is a corporate attorney, with a practice focused on emerging company formation and finance, corporate acquisitions and reorganizations, commercial and private lending, real estate finance and development and other commercial transactions.
Mike received his J.D. from Columbia University Law School, where he graduated with honors and served as a teaching assistant in corporate finance. Prior to joining Gammage & Burnham in Phoenix, Michael was a corporate associate in the Southern California offices of a large national firm, where he focused on the representation of entrepreneurs, startups and emerging growth companies in connection with general and transaction-specific matters, including mergers and acquisitions and venture capital financings.
Kristin Slice
Business Analyst
Kristin (Garrison) Slice is a communications, marketing and sales specialist. Kristin received two undergraduate degrees in human communication and political science, from Arizona State University and her Masters in Organizational Communication from Texas A&M University.
Kristin has worked both national and international in communication and corporate consulting in a variety of fields including heavy highway construction, small business marketing and sales and non-profit management. Kristin has also received her certification as a Social Media Strategist with many hours of advanced training on integrating social media platforms into business marketing programs. Kristin is also the co-author of several books and guides on topics ranging from social media to marketing and sales.
Ryan Berry
Corporate, Securities and Technology Law Attorney
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Ryan Berry is a corporate, securities and technology law attorney with Polsinelli Shughart, where he regularly works with emerging companies in their formation, financing and the protection of their intellectual property, as well as functioning as outside general counsel on the business law issues arising throughout their growth.
Formerly a co-founding member of a digital media startup, Ryan joined Polsinelli in 2010, prior to which he practiced in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, a large international law firm. A Phoenix native, Ryan received his law degree with highest honors from the University of Arizona and his undergraduate degree from Yale University.
Jason Bronowitz
Jason Bronowitz is Lecturer in Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at Arizona State University's College of Technology & Innovation, where he teaches courses in innovation, entrepreneurship, statistics and operations management. Jason is currently completing doctorates in Business Education and Industrial Engineering/Statistics, along with graduate certificates in Statistics and Industrial Statistics and a Six Sigma Black Belt. He holds a master's degree in Social Sciences and Economic Development and a bachelor's degree in Economics, both from Binghamton University and a graduate certificate in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood.
Jason has worked at ASU since 2007, first as Director of Entrepreneurship Initiatives at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and for the past three years, as Director and Data Analyst at ASU Online. Jason has taught statistics, economics, entrepreneurship and management since 2005 and also trains high school business and economics teachers pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at ASU's Teachers College. Prior to coming to Arizona, Jason worked in economic development as director of Binghamton University's economic development think tank, Catalysts for Intellectual Capital 2020.
TabHere founder Paul Kenjora is determined to bring back the old school tab with a modern twist. Paul says, "Looking into the future, the mobile payments space will naturally move to a tab like system emphasizing convenience and customer relationships, not technology."
As a former PayPal employee, Paul is familiar with the online transaction space and sees an amazing opportunity in physical payments. He's consulted with several Silicon Valley startups, and has raised over $1M in angel money for prior Arizona based startups. All experiences leading Paul to adopt a "Lean Startup" methodology for TabHere.
Mark Engle
Maricopa SBDC Center Director
MEd Educational Technology, Northern Arizona University
B.S. Agricultural Business Management, California State Polytechnic University
Director, Northland Pioneer College SBDC
Owner, Grade A Dairy, Shumway, AZ
Vice President & Manager, Security Pacific National Bank, San Jose, CA
Aaron Eden is the director of Gangplank Tucson, co-founder & CEO of Webglimmer Internet Solutions, founder of Garious and Vice President of Atrevete, Inc. For more than 20 years, Aaron has utilized his passion for innovation, entrepreneurship and customer empathy to start over 10 businesses in industries ranging from information technology, real estate, online continuing education, family entertainment and consulting.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Aaron works as a product manager at Intuit, Inc. with specific focus on helping employees grow their careers inside the company. Aaron uses his design thinking skills daily to find ways to create innovations across the entire enterprise in order to improve productivity, profits and customer focus company-wide.
Michael owns and co-founded MarketFace, a 12-year old, Arizona-based consultancy that helps companies achieve better business results from their interactive technologies. Some of his clients include companies such as APS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CITI, Delta Air Lines, Honeywell, OfficeMax, PetSmart, Toyota and United. His firm developed a methodology that identifies the wide range of issues that typically affect customers when they use a company's website or other interactive technology, and then provides specific recommendations that effectively resolve those issues and lead to improvements in key business metrics such as conversion rates, revenues and reduced support costs.
Aram Chavez has been working with Small to Medium sized enterprises since 1992, when he cut his teeth in Investment Banking. Since then he has underwritten numerous start-ups from seed to IPO. In 2001 he became a VC and emerging fund manager, forming his own firm, 247 Global, Inc. in 2006. He’s centric to investing in Arizona companies of all sizes.
In 2012, Aram became a “Skunkworks” Lecturer at ASU, to build and teach the prestigious BS in Entrepreneurship degree at the College of Technology and Innovation on the Polytechnic Campus.
His VC and Investment Banking experience allow him to transfer his real world knowledge to his ASU students (strategy, valuation, treasury, operations, marketing and negotiation experience).
Aram carries an MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management, resides in Chandler, AZ and is an experience wine consumer--novice wine evaluator!
Steve Meisenheimer started his business career at age 16, going door-to-door to offer palm tree trimming services near his north Phoenix neighborhood. Eventually he built that business into a million-dollar entity, the state's largest tree trimming company. That experience and the passion required to grow and manage a million-dollar company taught Steve about success.
Then Steve purchased a million-dollar landscaping business that taught him how quickly success can turn into near failure. Like most business leaders, Steve learned most of his leadership skills through trial and error. This was a slow, painful and very risky way to learn when the futures and fortunes of his employees, investors and many others counted on his results.
But, Steve was able to turn the business around and eventually succeeded. Over time he acquired and sold 9 businesses.
In 2005 Steve decided to shift his focus to sharing the painful and expensive lessons he had learned about how to build, manage and lead successful businesses. Small business owners who want to learn the practices and achieve the results of the most effective leaders appreciate Steve's content and motivational style. He has also authored three books, spoken to countless audiences on the topics of leadership and management, and is passionate about helping others win in this great game of business.
Michael Jameson
Business & Commerce Liaison for Congressman Trent Franks
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Michael Jameson has spent his whole career developing, nurturing and encouraging individuals and companies to act on their dreams and that yes they can change the world! His extensive and unique background in for profit and non-profit companies an addition to politics gives him a distinctive world-view.
Michael’s infectious enthusiasm comes from over 30 years of experience in the non-profit companies and political arena. He has a broad knowledge in non-profit companies marketing, mission statement and board development. In addition he has comprehensive campaign training, campaign management and lobbying skills.
Michael’s passion for people’s dreams is evident in the over 40 organizations that he has consulted in there start-up formation and board development. And the countless local and state wide campaigns he has been involved in.
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