No matter how far you go in business, as well as in life, it’s important to remember where you came from. And that’s why we are delighted to announce our proud sponsorship of Startup Weekend Heraklion, which takes place this weekend in Heraklion.
Yes, much like Richie Haven once said, we’re going back to our roots and fully supporting the first-ever gathering of its kind for young entrepreneurs and investors on the Greek island from November 3-5.
The event takes on special meaning for us, since it’s the place where the Starttech journey began back in 2000 with the establishment of the first IT student startup in Greece, Virtual Trip. Several spin-off companies later, and we are proud to be one of the country’s most competitive startup and scale-up accelerators.
Global event, local talent
Startup Weekend Heraklion, organized by pom coworking space, is part of the Startup Weekend organization, a global movement that promotes youth entrepreneurship and encourages innovative ideas. It is the largest community of young entrepreneurs and has organized over 3,000 events in 100 countries around the world.
Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington. Startup Weekend’s global community members are active in more than 200 cities around the world. And it comes as little surprise to us that Greece will host one of these excellent events. We keep banging the drum about there never being a better time to invest in Greek startups, and we stand by that notion.
Startup Weekend Heraklion: a startup crash course
During the three days in Heraklion, participants will form teams and plan original business projects. They will then present them to the public, as well as to a jury with members from the field of business, marketing and IT.
At the same time, they have the opportunity to participate in workshops. They can also get in touch with potential future collaborators. Students, potential entrepreneurs and active entrepreneurs, designers, developers and marketers. People who want to test a new concept will be eligible to participate.
Meet, plan, build, pitch
“The hardest part of starting up is starting out. At Techstars Startup Weekend, you’ll be immersed in the ideal environment for startup magic to happen.”
There are so many things about creating a successful startup it can be difficult for young entrepreneurs to pin down. From picking the right team, designing the right product and forming the correct business model, to pitching and deciding on marketing techniques, it can seem like a never-ending jigsaw puzzle.
Techstars Startup Weekend represents the chance to learn about it all. Over a total of 54 hours, designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains will gather to do amazing things.
The event will follow the same basic Startup Weekend model. Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote). And they embark on a frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback!
The floor is yours
Trust us, pitching to investors can be a daunting experience, even for veteran entrepreneurs. As we recently discovered from a visit to the #EBANMunich Winter Summit, your pitch can make or break all the great work put together. That’s why it’s always good to make sure you’re well prepared. Our pitch guide can help with that.
Full details of the event are available on the event website. Check out the schedule and content for each of the three days. And that’s it. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur and contribute to a more sustainable world, be part of the Techstars Startup Weekend Heraklion. Go on, the floor is yours!
