What Is Startup Weekend?

What is Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend is a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, teams and communities. Come share ideas, form teams, and launch startups.

Startup Weekend Global Site
Schedule

Friday

Apr 5
  • Registration Starts
  • Dinner & Networking
  • Welcome & Speakers
  • Pitches Start
  • Attendees vote for the top ideas
  • Teams start forming and discussing ideas
  • Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Saturday

Apr 6
  • Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
  • Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
  • Lunch
  • Call for needs & skills
  • Coaches help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
  • Dinner
  • Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
  • Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow

Sunday

Apr 7
  • Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee
  • Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)
  • Lunch
  • Coaches arrive… ASK QUESTIONS
  • Gut check. Start prepping for presentations
  • Dinner
  • FINAL PRESENTATIONS
  • Judging & awards
  • Wrapup
  • Go home!
Tier 1 Sponsors
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Speakers

Rob Zazueta

Evangelist   |  

Rob has more than 15 years of web development experience, three years as an independent business owner and more than two years in business development and technical sales support. Prior to VerticalResponse, he was the founder/owner of TechKnowMe, helping small businesses develop their online presence and online marketing programs. He also has held various management, developer and engineering roles at companies such as Intuit, The Academy of Art College and MightyWords Inc. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley.

When he’s not evangelizing the power of the VerticalResponse API and the benefits of integration, Rob can be found brewing beer, roasting coffee and resisting the urge to use his toddler son as a taste tester.

Tier 2 Sponsors
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Judges

Joe Davy

CEO of BUYSTAND   |  LinkedIn

Joe Davy is the 23 year-old CEO of BUYSTAND, the world’s largest marketplace for active lifestyle equipment, apparel, and footwear. He is also a member of the Microsoft’s Customer Advisory Board, the Foundation Board of Directors at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Board of the Kenan Institute at UNC Chapel Hill. He also serves as an advisor to 8 Rivers Capital.

Prior to BUYSTAND, Joe was the Founder/CEO and then Chief Product Officer of EvoApp, the creator of the enterprise big-data analytics platform Bermuda. EvoApp was acquired in 2012 by LocalSense to augment their marketing and data analytics capability. Additionally, Joe was the President of Davy Consulting (acquired in 2010) after starting his career at IBM as a software engineer.

Joe attended UNC Chapel Hill from 2007 to 2010, studying economics, and is a 2007 graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, the oldest and leading public residential high school for science and mathematics in the United States.

Joe has won numerous awards including the 2011 Small Technology Company of the Year award from the North Carolina Technology Association, the 2012 Companies to Watch award from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, & INC Magazine’s Coolest College Startup award. Joe has been featured in Entrepreneur, INC, Fast Company, Business Insider, and numerous other publications, and is regarded as a leader in big-data, consumer internet, and web technology.

Dr. Jeff Segal

Neurosurgeon, CEO of Medical Justice

Dr. Segal is a board-certified neurosurgeon who trained at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Segal also graduated from Concord Law School with highest honors.

Dr. Segal launched Medical Justice in 2002. Medical Justice is a physician based organization focused on keeping doctors from being sued for frivolous reasons. Medical Justice also helps doctors protect and preserve their reputations – particularly online.

Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice and online reputation.

Andrew Dreyfuss

Fund Executive for Piedmont Angel Network

Andrew is currently the Fund Executive for the Piedmont Angel Network, an early stage committed capital fund based in the Triad. PAN recently launched its third fund and has invested approximately $15M in 23 start-up companies since 2002. Additionally, Andy co-manages two real estate investment funds that are investing in residential subdivisions. Andy was the Placement Director for the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University from 2003 to 2008. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Dreyfuss was Director of Operations Planning for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. While at Coca- Cola, he led the planning process for a group with a $90 million budget and 1,200 employees. Andy also collaborated closely with HR on reorganizations and compensation plans. Additionally, he has held finance positions with Apple Computer and SAP. Andy graduated Magna cum Laude from Santa Clara University with a B.S. in Economics and received a MBA degree from Wake Forest University.

Lou Anne Flanders-Stec

Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship

Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, joined High Point University in 2010 as the Founding Program Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, providing her extensive experience working with venture capital firms and venture-backed start-up businesses. Her most recent work with the Piedmont Angel Network (PAN) venture fund included reviewing business plans, member and meeting management, accounting, external communications and networking, and due diligence coordination.

In the community, Ms. Flanders-Stec sits on the Executive, Finance & Marketing Committees of the prestigious Eastern Music Festival Board. She has previously served on the UNCG Scientific Advisory Board, Angel Capital Association Board of Advisors, Greensboro Children’s Museum Special Planning Committee, Hannah’s Haven Finance Committee, and the North Carolina Small Business Technology and Development Regional Board.

Ms. Flanders-Stec applies her knowledge base and experience to students in the classes she teaches including foundations of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, new business venture planning, and managing a new venture.

She earned her MBA in Finance with specialization in investments and accounting at the University of North Texas and her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Concentration in Business Administration from Ouachita Baptist University.

Tier 3 Sponsors
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Coaches

John Ford

Co-founder of Farmstand and Studioboro   |  LinkedIn

Greensboro lover and dweller John Ford makes things he loves for a living, and loves helping others pursue their passions, as well.

John co-founded Farmstand, an iPhone app connecting communities with locally-grown food, and Studioboro, a coworking space in downtown Greensboro. Compulsive traveling, living room DJ sessions, giving back to the community, and healthy living all contribute and fuel John's world.

Michael Hentschel

Corporate Development, COO-CFO-CSO   |  LinkedIn

Michael is a Project-Accelerator and Strategic Executive, often acting as COO or CFO or CSO, adding more than 25 years of experience in multiple rapid-growth ventures, hands-on corporate management, team-building, market-building, cash optimization and finance.

While many recent assignments have involved CFO roles, he has deep experience in Business Development and as VP of Sales. In the 80's, he co-managed VC Funds such as $58-million Schroder Ventures in Silicon Valley, with superior 27% annual returns in his deals. In addition to a Kellogg MBA and Yale BA, ongoing educational involvements have included teaching Executive MBA’s at Duke-Fuqua, publishing market research books, including the e-book "The Ends of Facebook" and the current bi-weekly TechVest Econometrics Journals. Michael founded TechVest Ventures (see also www.techvest.com) in 1987 to serve multiple high-growth clients and entrepreneurs. His "1000-Lights" motto has him looking at three ideas per day.

Brandon Burke

Developer/Principal Analytics for Lawyers and Co-founder of Studioboro   |  LinkedIn

Brandon, a North Carolina native, graduated from High Point University with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. As a past Startup Weekend participant and advocate for doing what you love, Brandon enjoys building things and seeing other people realize their goals of building things and working for themselves.

He currently operates a business that helps large and medium sized law firms better understand their practice through data mining. In 2012, Brandon and fellow Startup Weekend coach John Ford started Studioboro, a coworking space in downtown Greensboro.

Roger Cubicciotti

Ph. D. President, NanoMedica LLC

Roger is an entrepreneur with a passion for market-driven innovation, collaboration and venture development, particularly at the intersection of biotechnology, nanotechnology and clinical medicine. He has spent much of his energy over the past 25 years facilitating commercially directed partnerships among academic, corporate and government stakeholders. Although trained in the physics, chemistry and biology of molecules, cells, tissues and organs, Roger has become increasingly interested in the designed chemistry of teams -- helping people work together to achieve common goals. He currently serves on boards of a number of for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

In the past 15 years, Roger has co-founded several companies, including NanoMedica, Molecular Machines, Rational Affinity Devices, Abacus Biocomputing Systems, the Stem Cell Healing Foundation and VentuRealization Foundation. He holds 15 patents on technologies ranging from cardiovascular diagnostics to single-molecule detection, drug delivery, signal processing and photovoltaic devices. Prior to founding NanoMedica, he held research, development and management positions at Stanford University Medical Center, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the Naval Biosciences Laboratory, Corning Medical, Ciba-Corning Diagnostics, Photest Diagnostics and Biotechnology Development Associates. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

Kyle Lambert

Creative Lead at Olark   |  

The beard says it all. Kyle is a fun, enthusiastic, and passionate designer and front end developer living and working in Greensboro. He recently started as the Creative Lead for Olark chat, an online chat sales and support startup based in Palo Alto, CA.

Kyle has a love for startups and their culture, before joining Olark he helped startups from the likes of Conceptboard, The Quad, and Spruce Media. He is a member at Studioboro, a new coworking space in downtown Greensboro where he works along side of some of the most talented people in the Triad.

Paula A. Wells

Attorney at Law

Paula practices in the field of corporate and general business law with particular attention on start-ups, business acquisitions and divestitures, shareholder and operating agreements, creditor and debtor issues, commercial leases and employment contracts.

A graduate of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary, where she was project editor for the ABA's Administrative Law Review, she also holds a bachelor's degree from Marshall University and a master's degree from the University of Virginia, and is currently pursuing an M. Div. from Wake Forest University.

Paula is a member of the Greensboro and North Carolina Bar Associations and is licensed to practice in Maryland and Massachusetts as well as North Carolina. She has authored several articles in the American Jurisprudence 2d series, and lectures frequently on topics that concern the small business owner. Paula was elected by her peers in the profession for North Carolina Business Magazine's "Legal Elite" for 2012 in the business attorney category.

Her community work includes board positions with Crescent Rotary Club, the Woman's Professional Forum Foundation, and G.R.O.W. (Gathering Resources for Outstanding Women), of which she is a founding member. She is also an upcoming Board Member of the Greensboro Chapter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals. She co-chaired the Piedmont Business Ethics Award in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Patti Ramseur

Partner at Smith Moore Leatherwood

Patti Ramseur is a partner and currently serves as the leader of the Smith Moore Leatherwood labor and employment practice group. She also serves as the leader of civil litigation group for the firm's Greensboro office. She is well-versed in a full range of counseling and litigation for employers. Before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, Patti represents employers for claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, the FLSA, the REDA, the Sarbanes Oxley Act, and the Workers' Compensation Act. She also has experience with cases involving claims of sexual harassment, intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress, wrongful discharge, wage and hour disputes, unemployment compensation, contractual disputes, covenants not to compete, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Patti routinely advises clients on compliance with federal and state employment laws and reviews handbooks and policies for compliance with the same. In addition to employment counseling and litigation, Patti handles cases involving claims of medical malpractice, torts, and contractual disputes. Patti is active in a number of civic and community activities. She volunteers with the Women's Resource Center of Greensboro and has been active with The Carolina Theatre by serving on its Personnel Committee. Patti has also served in numerous roles through the North Carolina Bar Association and led the bar association's statewide Young Lawyers Division in 2008-09.

Alex Maultsby

Parter at Smith Moore Leatherwood

Alex Maultsby is a partner and member of the Smith Moore Leatherwood Labor and Employment Group and Higher Education Group. In addition to state and federal court litigation in North Carolina, and in association with local counsel, Alex has handled cases in Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Georgia, and South Carolina courts involving a wide range of liability issues. His work primarily involves representation of employers and institutions and associations in higher education in a range of litigation and compliance matters.

In his role as a counselor, Alex helps clients make management decisions with institution-wide impact, as well as resolve complaints and issues of individual impact. He regularly advises clients on, among other things, how to comply with regulations and corporate governance documents, how to address internal and external complaints, and how to manage litigation. He conducts training seminars and frequently speaks at continuing education programs. In addition, Alex has experience representing clients with unionized workforces, having has handled grievances alleging the breach of collective bargaining agreements, arbitrated disputes over union representation, defended and prosecuted charges before the National Labor Relations Board, been involved in strike negotiations and assisted in Union avoidance campaigns.

Alex is active in a number of civic and community activities. He recently concluded a two-year term as Chair of the Board of Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro, among other non-profit board involvement. In addition, Alex has served on numerous committees of the North Carolina Bar Association, including as a member of the Labor and Employment Section Council.

Tier 4 Sponsors
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Organizers
Kathy Elliott
Zack Mohorn
Bryan Toney
Sam Funchess
Monica Doss
Justin Streuli
John-Paul Smith
Kevin Payne
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