On the weekend of February 27th-March 1st, I gathered with over 50 other entrepreneurs with backgrounds including user interface, graphic design, programming, pr, and business development for the second Startup Weekend Los Angeles. Of the initial 20+ pitches presented on Friday night, we broke off into teams of 5-9 people based on what seemed interesting. Over the course of the weekend, seven teams designed and built working sites, each with varying degrees of completion.

The creativity and results were impressive, to say the least.

1. Blocksnap: Upload and experience views on the neighborhood level.
2. CheapChews: Receive coupons and notifications for local restaurants.
3. Fill in the Geek: Connecting comic buyers with comic sellers.
4. Sponsor Hub: A place for sponsors and non-profits find each other.
5. Yummyware: Simple bakery management software.
6. Share my Spot: You park here while I am not.
7. Craigee: A decision making tool for Craigslist.

SWLA was rewarding a rewarding experience unto itself, even if the projects never saw the light of day. But, in fact, they’re out there live on the web and it will be interesting to see if any gain long-term traction. You can read more about my team’s project: Yummyware, the simple bakery management software.

A huge thanks to host Jerome from Blankspaces, and the event sponsors who provided an amazing spread of food and tech support.

-Ben

Original Post

http://www.studiofluid.com/startup-weekend-los-angeles/

If nobody noticed, Jason Nazar is running a free lecture series on startups at the Santa Monica Public Library. Way to go Jason.

http://www.jasonnazar.com/2009/02/26/startups-uncensored-5-raising-money-from-angel-investors/

I’ve had a ton of emails from people on what the idea is that they need to pitch.

My $.02…  Pitch an idea for something that would be cool and popular, but not the thing you think will make a million dollars.

I’m pitching creating a plugin for Joomla that will show content from your social network on Ning. It is useful and cool… would be a GREAT reputation builder for the team that does it… can be marketed and distributed through Scrum Club without incurring overhead, plus it is a good web strategy for small businesses who want to build community on the cheap. We can charge like $15-25 for it to support it for bug fixes and updates. Plus it would help Scrum Club attract non-profits who want help with social networking,

How to formulate:
http://www.bnet.com/2403-13069_23-53004.html

At the very, very last minute we were fortunate enough to get a non-holiday slot. Yay! The new date is now Feb 27-March 1.

With our website up and running, and the end of the year fast approaching, it’s time to start our drive for sponsorship for Startup Weekend LA 2!

Times and budgets are tight no doubt. Budgets are getting cut, staff is reduced. It is hard times ahead to be sure… But companies don’t stop marketing in a recession, they just have to be smarter about it… and Startup Weekend is smart marketing to be sure.

Interested in sponsoring Startup Weekend? Start with our open letter to sponsors and then contact us. Sponsorship levels start with pizza and beer and go to $1000 for platinum. There’s space in between for everyone.

Big thanks go to Blankspaces for hosting. They have premium workspace to be sure… and they are pulling out all the stops to make Startup Weekend happen.