Startup Weekend Manila 2012: An Insight

The result of the Startup Weekend Manila 2012 winners was already released from their blog: 

First prize: Kiddle

Second prize: RideFind

Third prize: TraqMe

Fourth prize: Sphere

Build-a-better-world prize: 1Share1Life

Best E-Commerce prize: SpinMeBuddy

Best Windows phone application: TraqMe

People’s Choice: MentorsDojo

I was not able to participate personally. My Startup Weekend was spent instead at St. Luke's Hospital due to nasal infection. Here I am, still in my room and due for an operation tomorrow morning. Even though I was not at the actual venue, I managed to watch the event from my laptop via livestream. I could feel the room filled with energy and passion, as well as fear among the presenters. By the way, this is not only happening in Manila but places like in Australia and Hawaii, having their Startup Weekend as well.

After watching, which ended up before midnight and seen the final results from their blog, here are my insights should you wish to participate in the next Startup Weekend.

   

Sensibility - You only have a weekend to create your app. Make sure that the team has the skill and the capacity to do the prototype and present it to the judges on the final day. This is more than lip service. Prototype would mean that it could be done without yet the investors' money at hand. An app that has no prototype because it needs gazillion pesos to make it work would only drive your investors away. Be realistic.

Simplicity - As the saying goes, less is more. The Draw Something app is a perfect example, but among the presenters from the Startup Weekend, my personal favorite is TraqMe. The concept is to track the location of your loved ones especially if you have kids, simply to be able to know where they are. 

   

Sociability - It should bring people together, not only through friendship but for a cause. The 1Share1Life app is a social media where people could help other people pertaining to medical needs. What a beautiful concept. An app that would involved a lot of people means marketability as well as bottom line for investors.

Congratulations to the winners as well as for those who had participated.

To the organizers, thank you and hope to see you for the next Startup Weekend this time.

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea." - Buddha

Pre-Startup Weekend Bootcamp

Organized by the Google Technology User Group (Manila GTUG) and Google Developers Group (GDG) held at the Meridian International Business, Arts & Technology College (MINT) in McKinley Hill, Taguig City last April 14, the Pre-Startup Weekend Bootcamp aims to prepare developers and technopreneurs with the needed skills before judgment day on April 27 to 29 Startup Weekend Manila.

The Bootcamp was participated by around 40+, mixed students and professional were mostly are app developers. I was surprised that there were few designers, only two actually, including myself who joined the bootcamp. I just wished that more would come on the actual Startup Weekend itself. There were various speakers, interesting topics like tips on giving a one-minute pitch, where the speaker presented helpful advices and provided a link in vimeo that serves as reference. For those who would wish to participate in the future, visit http://vimeo.com/164475203.

A talk on the one-minute pitch
by Jonathan Lansangan

Another speaker, Art Ilano on Anatomy of Sale, shared samples of various business models and success elements of the apps. In his presentation, he shared the case of the "Draw Something" mobile application, where in less than two months after its release, Zynga bought it for US$180 million. This is a very interesting case study actually, will do more extensive research on this and share it in this blog soon.

Speaker Art Ilano shared the "Draw Something" case
among the participants.

Alfred Gonzales on the other hand, showed his Pinoytuner app done in Google Chrome. The Pinoytuner app is a very simple concept yet has already captured broad Filipino audiences overseas, around 30,000 to date from its November 2011 launch. For those interested on how to build an app via Chrome, visit https://developers.google.com/chrome/web-store/docs/get_started_simple. 

Various tools that would help designers and developers build an app prototype in a short period of time were also presented, from paid applications i.e. UIStencils, Omnigraffle, Parse, Codiqa, Mockapp and Balsamiq as well as to open source ones like the Pencil Project, Bootstrap from Twitter, and Middleman.

Lunch time at the Apple Experience Center,
one of the rooms at MINT College.

Doing a head start 

Right after lunch, participants of the Startup Weekend Manila were called in front to give their one-minute pitch try. There were few brave souls who did try including myself and the organizers gave their feedbacks and advices to help improve our pitches. It was really a different experience then. 

According to Charo Nuguid, one of the organizers, the objective of the Startup Weekend is to show an already working prototype among the venture capitalists and angel investors.

Amazed with the Google Chrome, HTML5, Startup Labs,
Google Developers, and Android cupcakes.

Google Chrome cupcakes

My favorite one, the Android cupcake

So, here is what we would expect during the course of the weekend, an American Idol like one-minute pitch on Friday night, build the prototype on Saturday until Sunday and present it to the judges which perhaps, includes the business plan already on the last day. It is going to be fun, or hell, I do not know, it is a competition of ideas, subject to interrogation by would-be investors. It is going to be a Sunday Bloody Sunday for sure.

To all my fellow participants, wish you all the luck.

For more information about the event, visit Startup Weekend Manila. For those who would wish to join, you may still register with a 20% discount according to the organizers.

One more thing...
Here is a very useful primer on design for startups by Wells Riley, check out Startups, this is how design works.