No Talk, All Action

Held at Mint College, McKinley Hill in Taguig City last 28-30 September 2012, the Startup Weekend Manila was a grueling 54 hours of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. Participants came from different backgrounds - developers, designers, business and marketing gurus, angel investors, venture capitalists, and technopreneurs. The event started Friday night with presentation of ideas in a form of one-minute pitch. The names of the idea were written in kraft paper. Those who would deliver the pitch were intense and nervous, I was one of them.

The Pitch

There is no exact formula but the rule of thumb is, you have to prepare a good pitch for the duration of one minute, no more, no less. A good one-minute pitch could be a liberating experience, expressing to the crowd that "hey, I have a great idea, join me, and let's make this work," or could possibly ruin, if it is not properly delivered, so, preparation is necessary. Remember the three Cs - clear, concise, complete. Emphasize why there is a need for the app, what will the app do, who are the people that you would want to be involved in, is it developers that you need? designers? marketing gurus? Be bold to speak in front of the crowd and ask for help.    

Right after the pitch, the organizers collected the names of the idea written in kraft paper and posted it in glass panels. This was the voting process where Startup Weekend participants placed their post-it notes to the startup idea that they liked. The idea should gather at least 10 votes to be able to qualify to the next round, meaning, form the team to enable the development of the app either in website or mobile platform pushed through. If you were not able to gather the required number of votes but still believed in your idea, you could still pursue it either by yourself or make a lot of convincing effort to have someone join you.

I got 21 votes for my startup idea - Blood Donors Network. Aside from Gerard Navarro, my colleague in the office, six developers from the Dynamic Objx had also joined in a quid pro quo agreement. The developers will help us code the app provided that we help them design their app called TULA or The Ultimate Laundry App. This is the quintessence of the startup weekend, helping each other develop the idea and make it materialized. We got our own nook which is called the Peppermint Room where there were bin bags and tables. We did the planning and workflow until 12 midnight so that we would have a head start the following morning.

The Development

Day 2 in the event. Participants started to arrive while I was having breakfast with the developers. Another hit at the Startup Weekend were the appetizing food and freshly brewed coffee. It is always something to look forward to in order to help fuel the minds and keep the senses awake. We were so fortunate to have the hard-core coders with us. They were very supportive in our app development, from building the workflow to coding. Gerard and I were as busy as them. Working every detail on the interface design of the app based on its logical workflow to the end users. It was really tedious and challenging process.

There were mentors in the event. Some asked questions while some provided constructive advice. Yet some would smack you right on your face by saying that your app will not work. It could be a debilitating experience but here is a good analogy, think of your app as a rock. That rock should undergo a lot of cuts from different angles, polishing, perfecting it, so that it would form into a valuable diamond. These cuts in a form of advises came from different angles, views, and cultures. As you progress in your app development, it would take its shape through these advises, polishing, perfecting it, so that in the end, would form into a valuable app.

The design and development were the focus of our work on the second day of the event. We had no marketing guy, so it is up to me and Gerard to come up with a business model while at the same time, working on the interface design of our app as well as the app of the other team. It is the adrenaline rush that made this event exciting and fun, holding onto that belief that we are developing a great app, which become the source of our motivation. Aside from the mentors, there were also members from the media and bloggers conducting interviews from the leaders of the participating teams. The experience of being interviewed was simply an ego booster. 

The Presentation

Day 3 in the event. Had breakfast with Karen, finance officer as well as member of I Should Have Been Informed team. Networking is another thing at Startup Weekend which definitely, be able to meet people coming from different professions. She was very much interested in our app, asking a lot. I could easily brisk through with her questions because I myself is a blood donor. I am advocating that blood should be a commodity because of the difficulty obtaining it during emergencies situations. I just realized towards the end of the event that some of the Startup Weekend participants had already branded me as the "Blood Guy".

The organizers had informed us that presentation would start at 5:30 PM sharp. It was crunch time and we could feel the pressure among our developers. Gerard and I were very impressed with Alvin's coding skills as he simply pushed the app in the android platform seeing our prototype taking its shape. I worked on the presentation slides and made sure that everything would be clear to the audience as well as to the judges. We were able to develop our marketing plan and had it incorporated into our presentation. This was the most intense part of the event and everybody were busy. As the presenter, it was actually double pressure for me. 

The actual presentation was 4 minutes with 1 minute Q&A from the judges. It was intense yet I had to overcome my fear in front of the 200+ audience at the venue as well as to those who were watching via live stream. It was the moment that I had to deliver the Blood Donors Network presentation clearly so that the concept would be properly communicated among the judges. It was again the most liberating experience that I was able to tell to the world The IDEA. The app did not make it to the eyes of the judges. I had no qualms and even very satisfied that I did it. We would continue developing the app and very optimistic to launch this worthwhile project.

The Mint College is just a stone's throw away
from Venice Piazza, McKinley Hill

Preparing the pitch

Ria Lu and Gerard Navarro

Startup Weekend participants listening to the pitches

Startup Weekend participants listening to the pitches

Delivering my pitch for the Blood Donors Network

Voting time

Startup ideas that were able to obtain more than 10 votes

The Blood Donors Network was able to gather 21 votes

The Dynamic Objx developers helping
on the Blood Donors Network app

Breakfast

Mr. Jonathan Lansangan mentoring the TULA team

Busy working on the apps

With Gerard Navarro against
the Startup Weekend Manila 2012 backdrop

The TULA and Blood Donors Network teams

One more thing...

To the Startup Weekend Manila 2012 organizers, thank you so much guys! It was remarkable and we really had a great time. Looking forward to another Startup Weekend. How I missed the adrenaline rush.

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.

Startup Weekend Manila

Registration is now open for Startup Weekend Manila, which will be held on April 27, 28, and 29 at MINT College, Taguig City, Metro Manila. The event is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of credible business. For more details, you make check Startup Weekend Manila.

According to the organizers, here is what to expect on Friday night to better prepare the participants.

What To Bring

Laptop

Business cards (or not, if you use Bump)

Something to take notes on

A paper ticket is not required. Your name is on a list.

STUDENTS - Bring your student ID

Lots of energy

Pitches

Pitches on Friday night will be in a "pitch-fire" format, which means you will have just 60 seconds to get the audience interested in your idea. You will have no slides or props -just your voice. You won't have time to go over features, so just focus on the core of the idea and make your enthusiasm contagious. Here is the format for pitches that we recommend:

Who are you and what is your background? (5-10 Seconds)

What is the problem that your product is solving? Or, begin with a story (10-20 Seconds)

Explain the product and how it solves the problem (10-20 seconds)

Who do you need on your team (a developer, marketing, designer?) (5-10 seconds)

Finally, make up a name for your startup so the facilitator can give it a title

Voting & Forming Teams

After pitches, you will have more time to mingle. If you pitched an idea, this is your time to start recruiting others that may be interested in your idea. If you did not pitch, or if you are having trouble finding others to join your team, use this time to seek out those that pitched other ideas that you found interesting.

Next, the crowd votes on their favorite pitches.This is simply a way to encourage quick team forming. This is by no means an exclusive process and if you pitched an idea and it is not voted as one of the top ideas, you are more than welcome to work on it if you find some other people who want to work on the idea with you. From there we will form teams and these are the startup ideas that will be worked on over the weekend.

See you there!

The Startup Weekend Crew