Where has 2013 gone? Are we really already teasing at events coming up in late September? Indeed, yes.
As such, it’s time to step up your game a bit if you’re thinking of joining the entrepreneurial fold. Startup Weekend is a fantastic way to get indoctrinated to that world, and it’s coming up Sept. 20 through Sept. 22 for a mere $99. Here’s the pitch on what it is:
All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.
In other words, it’s a trial by fire and you may meet people you want to keep working with — or you may find out it’s not for you and you’ll resume your current lifestyle. It’s a great way of just finding out who you are deep down and that’s always good information to have. You got some time to think about it.
Next month’s theme is all about education, so if you are interested in dabbling in that space, have at it!
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as IFC’s comedy, film, and TV blogger, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. (He also co-runs a blog behind the DePaul class, DIY Game Dev.) He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
