It’s a rare occasion to find me anywhere besides starbucks or my room on the weekend, however, during Startup Weekend it was odd to see me anywhere but Hilton. I didn’t have any idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up but marched into Hilton on friday for 54 hours straight of building a business. I chickened out of pitching my own idea, but wanted to put my marketing skills to use and joined a team of entrepreneurship majors to start a company.
Here are a few of the many things I learned over the weekend:
1. You don’t have to come with a idea ready to pitch.
Startups are great because they need all kinds of expertise. Join any team and show them what you bring to the table.
2. Group projects can actually work well.
Maybe it was because we chose our teams, for once in my life everyone contributed and was actually motivated to work together.
3. 54 hours will fly by.
We were working the whole time and then suddenly it was an hour until judging and we hadn’t finished our presentation.
4. People are willing to help you.
The mentors gave us so many helpful tools throughout the weekend, we couldn’t have done it without them. By the end of the weekend it feels like they are part of the team (or squad).
5. Winning shouldn’t be the ultimate goal.
Coming from a very competitive person, this one means a lot. My team didn’t win but I left Startup Weekend with so much more knowledge about starting a business that I can’t really call it a loss.