Well then, I'll see you on the bus next year :) It was hard to sit at a desk and follow events this time around. As hard as it sounds (and it is tough going, don't doubt that) it is a lot of fun and the passion and enthusiasm is infective. Companies should implement this as an annual event (only slightly tongue-in-cheek). *That's* how you get people looking for a place to hack at 10.30pm.
Rai On Mar 16, 12:29 am, Matthew Ho <matt.h...@gmail.com> wrote: > I went to the startup bus finals last night - here's a brief recap. > > It whittled down to teams from Silicon Valley (2 teams), New York, > Miami and Cleveland. > > I was very impressed by what the guys could build in 48 hrs on the > bus. The team members had varied backgrounds including a Facebook > hackathon champion, Groupon rails developer, Aussie lawyer, Business > Development,etc... > > What was also impressive was that it wasn't just about coding. The > presentations focused on the following business elements as well: > > - what problem are they trying to solve > - Defining the target market ie. who is the customer > - Market sizing > - Business Models > - Metrics: number of signups, unique views on website > - Future plans / opportunities / partnerships > > When they first got to Austin a few days before the finals, I bumped > into 3 teams from Chicago bus outside the Driskill hotel and I asked > them to give me a 1 minute pitch each. I was amazed at what they had > done, how smooth their pitches had become, one even had an iPhone app > they had built, even though they had just gotten off a long bus ride. > The team's next question was - "Where can we find a place to hack?" > And this was at 10.30pm at night!! > > The judging panel was also quite impressive with guys like Dave > McClure (500startups) and Naval (Angel List). > > IMHO the best presentations were from TripMedi and Flybymiles. The > judges gave out joint winners to: > > - TripMedi: which focuses on medical tourism. Think Expedia for knee > replacements. Ability to search for medical surgery from overseas as > its cheaper, get information and feedback from previous customers. > Ambitious idea and had lots of risk, but I liked how they were trying > to solve a social issue. > > - Walk.In: online reservation system for waiting in line. You get a > notification via SMS when you have moved to 1st spot. > > There was so much energy and buzz in the room. There must have been > like 200-300 people there (which I didn't expect). There was a small > Aussie contingent that I caught up with including Rex Chung and Pamela > Fox, and there was a bunch of Aussie startups there from Play > Entourage and iTou.ru as well. > > Overall it was an amazing event and we gave Elias Bizannes a standing > ovation at the end. Well deserved! I definitely want to participate > next year. > > Cheers, > > Matthew Ho > @inspiredworlds > > On Mar 12, 3:11 am, Rex Chung <rex.ch...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Having just been on the bus, and participated in last year's > > RailsRumble, I can see the different approach in startupbus or > > possibly other startup weekend like events. > > > The mentality of RailsRumble and Hackathons is more like 'look how > > much cool features we've built in the last 48 hours'. > > > In startupbus, we don't pitch the idea or form the team until you're > > on the bus. > > This is much more geared towards entrepreneurial skills then just > > hacking skills. > > > First you need to gain social proof and be able to sell your idea to > > form a good team. > > Then you work on brainstorming and iterating on a minimal viable > > product to solve the problem. > > Building the project is just the last part that allow us to > > communicate our ideas through a tangible product experience. > > > I think "not expecting the projects to become real companies" means > > just not expecting everyone to continue working on the idea because it > > is impossible to expect strangers can become cofounders overnight. > > Also by the time we finish the product we would have realised it's not > > going to work. > > > For RailsRumble, we formed the team a few months in advance, and we > > pick an idea that is doable within 48hrs instead of searching for a > > problem we want to solve and be ready to validate our solution. > > > There were definitely alot more brainstorming and discussion going on > > in startupbus versus other hackathon type events. > > > Cheers, > > Rex Chung > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ---- > > ph: +61 421 591 943http://www.rorcraft.com - Ruby on Rails > > Consultinghttp://www.ankoder.com-Video Encoding on Demand > > > On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 8:49 PM, Jeromy Evans > > > <jeromy.ev...@blueskyminds.com.au> wrote: > > > Geoff, the most valuable outcomes from these events are (from an > > > engineer's perspective): > > > > - discovering how quickly a team can develop and market test a > > > product > > > - learning how to release (overcoming the phobia about releasing > > > something unfinished) > > > - getting in front of customers with an unfinished/unrefined > > > (overcoming the phobia of talking to real potential customers) > > > - getting in front of investors (overcoming the inertia of developing > > > and pitching a business plan that's never finished) > > > - letting go (applying brutal prioritisation and focus) > > > - developing an awesome network > > > > Most of those are psychological barriers that environments like > > > startup bus help overcome. I'd love to be there. Whether the ideas > > > live on or not doesn't matter. Most people will take what they've > > > learned, and the network they've joined, and apply it to their real > > > company or idea. > > > > regards, > > > Jeromy Evans > > >www.linkedin.com/in/jeromyevans > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach > > > Australia mailing list. > > > > Guidelines on > > > discussion:http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia/msg/351e183e13... > > > > No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. > > > > To post to this group, send email to > > > silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Guidelines on discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia/msg/351e183e1303508d?hl=en%3Fhl%3Den No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. To post to this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en
