StartupCamp2DiscussionIdeas
From StartupCamp
Startup Camp: An Unconference for you, by you
This page is where you should give people an idea of the session(s) that you may end up proposing at Startup Camp. But first, if you're not sure how things will work at Startup Camp and how to create and edit pages on this Web site, then read on. If you're an old hand at unconferences and are ready to offer some ideas for some discussions (and you know how to edit wiki pages), then click the edit tab above, scroll to the bottom, add some discussion topics (along with brief descriptions to this page).
Open Space Basics
Startup Camp will be conducted Open Space style (more about Open Space and unconferences can be found here). Much the same way other camps like Mashup Camp have been run, at the beginning of each day, there will be a general assembly where attendees can propose the discussions that they're interested in leading. Attendees will line up for their turn at the microphone, propose a discussion and, on a whiteboard that lists all of the available rooms and timeslots in grid fashion, slot their proposed discussion into one of the available room/times. We'll follow the same protocol as we did in Mashup Camp where the details about the proposed discussion are written in magic marker on a piece of paper and then taped into an available slot (this way, they're easily moved).
Startup Camp Logistics
To get an idea of what this looks like, check out the images on the Camp Agenda for Mashup Camp 1. For Startup Camp, there will be about 8 different rooms and 4 or 5 different time slots which means there's opportunity for a lot of different dicussions to take place. One or more blocks of time will be reserved for "speed geeking." Speed geeking is like speed dating and the purpose of it is to give all attendees the information they need to vote for their favorite startup in the Best Startup Contest. Startups will be given the opportunity to setup up stations where they can present their business idea, plan of execution, and demonstrate any tangibles. Attendees will spend five minutes at each station before moving to the next one at the sound of a buzzer. For more information about the Best Startup Contest, be sure to vist the Best Startup.
Principles of Open Space
There are several principles of Open Space:
- Whoever comes are the right people.
- Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
- Whenever it starts is the right time.
- When it is over, it is over.
- Document your session on the wiki.
The Law of Two Feet
There is also the Law of Two Feet: If durring the course of the gathering, any person finds themselves in a situation where they are neither learning nor contributing, they must use their two feet and go to some more productive place.
And Be Prepared to Be Surprised.
And amazed.
Discussion Proposals
Below is a list of probable/proposed discussions. At the end of each description is a link to a detail level page where you can get more information, indicate your interest in attending the discussion, and flesh out the topic in more detail with other attendees. However, in some cases, the proposed discussion is neither listed yet or the detail level pages are not setup yet. So, feel free to add to this wiki. If you click on a link for which a page hasn't been created, it will take you to a page that you can start to edit (if you are one of the people who proposed a topic, feel free to start the detail level page associated with that topic and get the conversation going!).
Note: We've had a few people use the discussion tab along the top of the wiki interface to enter a proposed discussion. Be sure to click the edit tab at the top of this page. This will put you into the edit mode for this page. Then, scroll to the bottom and enter your discussion idea.
Check out our help page for getting started when it comes to logging in and creating or editing pages on this wiki.
In no particular order, here are some proposed discussion topics. If you're adding a topic, please bracket the topic with four "=" signs to designate a new section heading (e.g., ====MyTopic====), and add your name so we know who proposed the topic.
How to build a successful micro-multinational
You've got your idea. You've managed to raise seed money. You have heard that CoolStartUp2.0 has part of its development team in FarAwayCountry, and you want to get more for less too. I have been doing this from both sides of the table for 7 years and would like to share with you some dos and donts.
Proposed by: Andrew Filev
How to start without funding?
We all hear about the next Googles and Youtubes getting funded, but how about the great majority of high-tech companies bringing innovations to the market and succeeding without VCs? How do they get the first customers without big marketing budgets? How do the founders manage to survive without money? Topics: Bootstrapping [1], Micro ISVs [2] Proposed by: Felipe Albertao
Sales Skills for Geeks
How to make cold calls? How to get the first customer? How to effectively pitch a product? Proposed by: Felipe Albertao
Also, see last years notes from [|Selling for Founders]
Software Practices for Start-ups
Early-stage start-ups usually have very small teams (one to two developers), tending to overlook professional software practices while focusing in just getting the first version done. But out of a sudden the team grows, new features must be quickly added, while customers expect the same level of quality as corporate software. What agile practices are suited or not suited for start-up environments? How to adopt best-practices from the ground up? How to kick-off the development process? How to keep quality stable as the team and codebase grows? Proposed by: Felipe Albertao
Lightweight Web Platforms
One of the biggest challenges for a start-ups is to get the product out to the door as soon as possible, and then be able to rapidly add new functionality while maintaining the first features. What platforms are suited for rapid iterative development? What are the risks and rewards in adopting platforms like LAMP, Ruby on Rails, Lightweight Java (EJB3 and Jboss Seam [3]), Spring, etc... Proposed by: Felipe Albertao
Integration - Identifying Winners and Losers
No startup can go it alone in the Web 2.0 space. You need to hook in to other services to extend functionality, differentiate, or provide alternative sales channels and marketing venues. The integration opportunities are huge but come at development and resource costs. How do I easily identify which mash-ups are worthwhile, and prioritize. Does it pay for a start-up to latch on to some of the major marketplace players - Salesforce.com, SAP, WebEx Connect? Or should we try to open up as much as possible in the hopes that if we build it they will come? Or build functionality so that you can plug and play in the Google or Yahoo sandbox? Proposed by: Jonathan Crow
Intellectual Property Issues for Startups
IP can be important to your business success and to your company valuation. Topics to be covered include: types of intellectual property, types of patent applications, cost control, preserving rights, IP best practices, selecting an attorney, IP strategy, and anything else the participants want to learn about. Proposed by: Steven Colby
Should Startups "think scale first"?
Never-ending battle between business and technical folks. Argument #1 : "Concentrate on features, No time/resources for building scalable architecture now, Think about scale when or if we get big". Argument #2: "Build a Scalable Architecture first; invest early and save lots of money later when we get big". What if my startup is the next YouTube or MySpace?. Should I think scale first while architecting my Web 2.0 app? Proposed by: Jinesh Varia, Amazon Web Services
Venture Labor as an alternative to Venture Capital
No description provided
Startup Financing: Options and Strategies
I have been leading that discussion at a number of camps, and though I would be happy to hand it over to another lead - just to get a different perspective - I plan to host a discussion on startup financing. It is a subject where online resources are now widely available and therefore I expect to spend most of the session on Q
