Startup Weekend Utrecht (Sunday)

Day of judgement

Welcome back! Has coffee ever tasted better? Utrecht city currently is covered in peaceful clouds of fog, cloaking all details from our sight, smothering sounds into noise. This misty Sunday morning beautifully symbolizes the current state of some participants: there's definitely need to clear minds. Luckily, there's coffee, breakfast, and brand new mentors on their way to Seats2Meet. Last night, most teams nailed down their business model (some even went drinking afterwards; group bonding or an attempt to temper the moods?). Six hours left to the grand pitch, and we've got Arthur Sevenstern in the house! "I make people nicer to listen to"; Arthur knows all about getting the message across. Will our teams succeed to cramm 2 days of work into a 4 minute talk? Embrace your loved ones & kill your darlings!

Mentor super stars

Before we kick-off with our last-minute pitch training, Hanna Vera introduces our Sunday guru's, who are going to support our teams. Henri Viswat (Managing Director of Conclusion Financial Professionals) knows all about commercial and sales management. Niels van Hest (Director at Mansal) is here to improve your pitch, to see what your sayings do with anyone else. For insights on intellectual property laws we have Freek van Wensen (VanWensenIP); "How to protect and exploit to the max!". Last, game-designer/developer Joost Blatter and interaction designer Lennart Meijer know all about focusing a pitch on game-related topics.

WIIFM: You can be one of the 2%

Arthur van Sevenstern gives a short presentation about pitching. "If you tell enough about your expertise, all audience members will eventually benefit... wrong! If it's not fully relevant, you will lose attention immediately." Let's play a little mind game: how many presentations are perceived as bad ones? Arthur knows the answer: "98%! So clearly we have to change to way we think about presenting!" The most important guideline to keep in mind can be summed up as follows: What's in it for me? Arthur reminds us about selling a fire place: companies are not selling the actual 'thing', but do promise you cosyness, a warm loving atmosphere. "You're not selling a product, you're selling what it means to your buyers." In addition, always make sure to show them with visuals. To illustrate, Arthur tries to write down a manual, for children that are trying to learn how to ride a bike. It proves to be impossible, it cannot be learned by instructions, arguments or text in general. "Show them, motivate them and involve them!"

"Aaaargh! Two hours left! Do we have a logo yet?" This is what business on the fly looks like. However, most teams are actually quite relaxed, confident about their idea, or at least about what they are going to show. "We're done, pretty much... We stopped building our prototype, because there's no way we're going to finish it in time, but there's already plenty of product to show. Now we're just rehearsing our pitch." Their own expectation? "It's gonna rock!"

While last-minute changes are made, we keep on disturbing our upcoming enterpreneurs for group photos. But luckily, they were given some more time: pitches are scheduled for 17:00h. Our teams are currently pretesting their videos and pitches in the separate lounges. In the large Mindz-lounge -main stage for our pitches- we're plugging into all cables, screen, lights & Twitter-fountains. Let's make it work!

There we go! There's a buzz in the waiting room! Exciting guests has arrived, are enjoying a drink or two in advance. The creatives that are going to pitch are a little anxious, but their teams have fate in them. The doors are opening right now, the crowd takes a seat. This is the moment of glory!

"Old companies are not cut out for it, they can't survive the world we currently live in. These new companies -created at Startupweekend- are different. Startupweekend is a movement, all participants loves startups, making sure there's an awesome venue and foremost creating excitement."

But first of all; a big round of applause for the organization of Startupweekend!

Five minutes pitches and five minutes Q&A for each team, there we go!

17:40. Indie-melt: Selling and marketing games. It's a platform, helping young (experimental) game developers to bring their games to a much larger audience. Gamers can find new games, talk about it and create a buzz!

Q: "Who's your team to make this work?" A: "Indie-melt is focusing on the game developers themselves, as the platform can accommodate a new channel for them in particular."

Q: "Do you know why those 40% of concerts are unsold right now?" A: "There are possibilities to get to know more artist as well, which could increase sales."

Q: "How are you going to do your marketing?" A: "We recruit experts, that can carry it forward."

Q: "How do you keep the games fresh? Different engines?" A: "After some games we can re-use technology we've already build."

Q: "As there are similar products, what makes your company stand out?" A: "We think about stories that really look good and are extremely immerse."

Q: "How well do you know the culture in the USA?" A: "We've got some contact already, and first prospects are looking good."

We're back after some great dinner. Refreshed and ready to rock with 6 brand new concepts! Without further ado, let's go!

19:30 Pub Night: App that strips away the barries and complications that social media put between you and your friends. There's only one purpose: it's telling you when your friends are at your favourite pub. Possibility for partnerships in branding specific bars or brands.

Q: "There are similar tools, how are you going to compete?" A: "They're usually embedded in social media, and as such people use different platforms. We like to offer one, centralized app."

Q: "Is there a prototype yet?" A: *demonstrating a prototype on his smart phone*

Q: "Where's the fun gonna come from?" A: "It has elements of a game. Failing is not a problem; you could try again in a playful manner."

Q: "Could be expand on how to market this?" A: "The big hit will come when we contact a partner to cooperate with. Also, we would like a caravan to visit festivals and events."

Q: "Why... why would I like to become a local hero?" A: "The main reason is altruism."

Q: "Who are your paying customers?" A: "It's a crowdfunding platform, but there are possibilities for advertising on our platform."

Awards

Don Ritz of Rockstart Accelarator: "Startups are hard. Reason I still stand here is because of energy. Energy that thrives on creative, inspiring people that work with passion for what they believe in. Don't think you're on your own; there are a lot of companies and people to help you!"

"Dare to fail.

Put everything on the line for your dream.

And don't worry if you fail: 

it's always just a few months for the next Startupweekend!"

AWARDS

Public Award: GIGG

No talk all action Award: Allard Ankoné
Sleep is for pussies Award: Eva Nieuwdorp

Best idea, weakest pitch: Sustentables
Most innovative idea: Tattoofy

Most convincing pitch and motivation (Yearling): Favour-it

1st prize for interaction design (Utrecht INC): GIGG
1st prize (Dutch Game Garden): iSpeech

Overall winner on Startup: GIGG

GIGG: "Last night our heads were spinning, this morning we didn't know what to do, and now were standing here. Thank you so much!"

We've seen some inspiring new ideas. But more important, an amazing crowd of participants that has been extremely dedicated. On the first day, enthusiastic creatives have planted the seeds by pitching their ideas. During the Startupweekend, these seeds have sprouted in the fertile soil, a layered mixture of creativity and business insights. Slowly, we saw green leaves rise above the surface, developing into trees, firmly rooted. Some are even trimmed into beautiful shapes, triggering the imagination of what is to come, and what is possible. They're not fully grown yet and will require maintenance -no doubt-, but they're already part of a new business landscape. And last, -as goes for all living organisms- it needs love. Lots and lots of love.

We would like to thank Seats2Meet; they have been truly amazing! Their facilities are bautifully inspiring, but most of all, their staff has been supporting, enthusiastic and helpful at all times. We couldn't have done it without them: a big round of applause, please!

Participant are probably going to catch some sleep. There's enough to dream about. Startupweekend has ended.

But there are new beginnings.

We're done;

This blog was brought to you by Frank-Jan van Lunteren (writing and editing) & Youri Straver (photos). We loved being your fly on the wall, following the vibe, capturing this amazing event. Thanks for reading.

A good night to you all!