It has been a while since I’ve last mentored at a StartupWeekend (last time was at StartupWeekend Cologne in January), so I was honoured that I got invited not just by StartupWeekend Cork, but also by the team of StartupWeekend Stuttgart to be a mentor in the same weekend.
Sadly due to some logistics I could not fly over for my first trip ever to Ireland so I drove over to Stuttgart for the weekend and start helping out all the different teams in German (yes it has been a long time since I had to speak German, and apparently I still know enough to have some conversations).
Just after I arrived they did a small interview with me, which you can view below.
If you are joining a StartupWeekend anytime soon and want to get some insights and knowledge up front have a look at these two videos done with Will Martin from StartupWeekend Cork (whom I met at this years StartupBus Europe as a buspreneur from Estonia):
I will share some insights on how to get a heads-up on your “competitors” during the weekend and how to get validation for your idea. Doing Customer Development is really important and is one of the things which are mostly forgotten or overlooked during one of these weekend events.
Of course, winning a StartupWeekend or a StartupBus is an amazing feeling, but moreover never forget you are there to learn. So take the time and work of those Customer Development skills too, getting your assumptions validated will help you later on with whatever startup you are creating or even in normal daily life.
Have you ever been to one of these events? What are your learnings? How did it make you feel? Be sure to share in the comments!