RI is hosting the first New England-wide Startup Weekend on OCT 15-17th. Bryant University is hosting, and providing a unique FooCamp (bring your tents) environment to practice your startup chops.

Register at the New England Startup Weekend site. There is a big push to get college students, and we want to balance that with experienced tech and business folks who want to get their startup on.

What is Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of software developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists, industrial designers and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects. It is an amazing opportunity to connect with other passionate and skilled individuals, and perhaps even find a co-founder or two to transform your idea into reality.

Simply, individuals form teams around ideas on Friday night. By Saturday they are designing both a product and a business model, and by Sunday teams have built a prototype and a company pitch. On Sunday evening the teams pitch to a panel of judges, prizes are given, and confetti drops from the ceiling.

OK, so why should you spend your weekend at Startup Weekend New England?

1. It's intensely fun. What's better than going from idea to prototype and company story in 54 hours, with cool motivated people and free food? OK, I'm sure you could make up something, but I'm guessing it's not happening on the weekend of Oct 15th. Startup Weekend is a good time.

2. It will get you started on your "back pocket" idea. You know you have one. We know you have one. Come test your idea out, see if other people see the value, and maybe rally a team to make some progress. Even if your idea doesn't get chosen (SUW'ers vote with their feet at the end of FRI night) you'll get some good feedback and mentally move forward that million dollar gem.

3. It will build your network. You'll meet 60+ other entrepreneurs, from all ages and backgrounds, both business and tech. There will be guest speakers, judges, and the StartupWeekend organizers (both local and global). That's a lot of people to spend "quality time" with. Many SUW'ers from other cities keep their network going well after the event has ended.

4. You will find and validate cofounders and employees. Around all those fellow travellers? Guess what. One of those folks will be that cofounder that you've been searching for, your next rockstar university hire, or maybe the person who will hire you.

5. If you are an experienced entrepreneur, you will get better at what you do. SUW is not just for first time entrepreneurs or college students. For experienced entrepreneurs, SUW will take you out of your rut, let you exercise new skillz (been meaning to show off your RubyonRails?) and try different team approaches. Plus, we know you've got ten other ideas that you just haven't been making progress on...

6. If you are a new entrepreneur, you will test your mettle very quickly. No offense meant to entrepreneurship classes, but SUW is where the rubber meets the road for first time entrepreneurs. It's a bit of a pressure cooker, but it will steel your resolve to get your first venture up and running. And you'll learn lots of startup stuff.

7. You will be part of a shared experience across 20,000 people. Not a simultaneous experience, but in the three years since Startup Weekend was founded, they've spread like wildfire across the globe. Over 100 cities in 25 countries, and doubling in event count every year.

8. It works. Why do all those people show up? The idea simply works, and it keeps getting better. Just do a search for blogs or videos on "Startup Weekend experience" and see for yourself. There is a good overview video on YouTube (plenty of user generated content from SUW round the world there too).

Oh, and did I mention that it's cheap? $40, or $25 for students. Bryant University is generously covering all the hosting costs at their beautiful conference center, and will even let you pitch a tent on their campus green (It has the word "camp" in it, after all). So go here (http://newengland.startupweekend.org/) and register. Really, there's no reason not to.

RI is hosting the first New England-wide Startup Weekend on OCT 15-17th. Bryant University is hosting, and providing a unique FooCamp (bring your tents) environment to practice your startup chops.

Register at the New England Startup Weekend site. There is a big push to get college students, and we want to balance that with experienced tech and business folks who want to get their startup on.

Here is a description of Startup Weekend from their About page, and a good overview video on YouTube (plenty of user generated content from SUW round the world there too).

Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects. It is an amazing opportunity to connect with other passionate and skilled individuals, and perhaps even find a co-founder or two to transform your idea into reality.

Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization based out of Seattle, WA USA. Startup Weekend’s primary mission is to be the most valuable and influential organization in startup communities around the world. Startup Weeked doesn’t have to teach entrepreneurship in a boring classroom setting, we model it in a fun, interactive, and results driven way. As a result, we have become one of the leading catalysts for startup creation, co-founder dating, and entrepreneurship education in startup ecosystems around the world.

There is currently representation in over 100 cities in over 25 countries for Startup Weekend, and being a resource strapped, bootstrapping startup ourselves, we’ve had to stop counting there. Up to May 2010, we have helped educate over 15,000 entrepreneurs at over 115 events, and launched over 560 new startup ventures. In 2010, we will have at least 60 events around the world, and our goal is 100 for 2011.

Following the Government 2.0 movement? Inspired by Apps for Democracy, SFData.gov, or NYC Big Apps? Want to use the web to make a difference in Providence? Come join me for the first CityCamp, sponsored by O'Reilly Media and Code for America.

Here's the invite email from CityCamp. You can follow them (Twitter) at @CityCamp or @CodeForAmerica. Let me know if you are interested in attending.

CityCamp, an unconference dedicated to practicing Gov 2.0 at the local level, will be held January 23-24, 2010 in Chicago, IL at the University of Illinois Chicago Innovation Center (get a look at the space here).  Please put it on your calendar and make plans to attend!

Great, now that it's on your calendar, here are a couple of things you'll want to do:

1. Please sign up to attend here: http://citycamp.eventbrite.com/

2. Visit the wiki and add your thoughts on topics to cover.
3. Help us spread the word!  We need to reach out to municipal government employees and officials especially.  Please forward this email, tweet out the dates, and also let me know of any mailing lists or organizations we should reach out to directly. 
4. Interested in sponsoring?  Sponsorships levels are only $100 and $500.  Attendance is free, so we need a few helpful souls to help pay for the venue and food.

A recent article in the Economist about RI's economic stats got a lot of re-press. Fewer folks noticed that they also did a video piece featuring Barrett Bready of NabSys, which is doing genomics-on-a-chip. The Geek community also gets a mention in the interview from the only economist who ever gets quoted about RI, Leonard Lardaro.

The RI First Lego League Robotics Tournament is coming up on Jan 10, and they need judges. I haven't done it previously, but have heard from others it is a lot of fun, and would be interested in getting a couple geeks together to help out the next generation.

There is a training on Jan 6 from 7-9 PM and the tournament on Sat Jan 10 in the morning. More info here. Msg me or respond on the thread if you are up for it !

The next RI Nexus Open Coffee is Wednesday, September 17th 8am-10am. Check out the calendar for details.

Even entrepreneurs need a vacation, but folks, August is over and its time to get back to starting up. And Open Coffee is the place to be if you are starting up a technology-driven business, thinking about it, investing in it, or just like hanging around geeky entrepreneurs.

Over the spring Open Coffee grew from a few folks around a cafe table at 729 Hope Cafe to a vibrant (and loud) caffeine-buzzed gathering of 12-20 people.  The intimate format and startup focus makes for good story sharing, resource swapping, and idea floating.

The vibe is casual drop-in, drop-out, buy your own coffee. We have fluid discussion topics focused around tech startups, a few will be suggested by the hosts, but its up to those who show to decide what they want to talk about. Open Coffee is a place where you can "dig in" on an idea or question, with a few compatriots or the whole group.

I'm sure a big topic of fall discussion will be how the economic downturn is affecting our markets, fundraising, revenue and hiring. Though its been unsettling, I've continued to see the energy in tech and internet startups stay strong, both locally and globally. Good ideas have no "season".

So come share your tales of woe and glory, and lets figure it out together.