Can you take an idea from pitch to launch in 54 hours? Nearly 100 cities are participating in the Startup Weekend Global Battle for Startup Weekend and this can be your chance to experience one of the most intense weekends of your life. Startup junkies, this is your chance to build a company and relationships.

I participated in Startup Weekend Indianapolis 2010 and joined a team to get the app, Notesee, launched in 54 hours (53 hours by the time the pitch session was over). The team consisted of five team members: me as a front-end developer, David the Ruby/Rails developer, Joel the excellent designer, and two business developers. We jumped into a quiet space and started planning with a montage of discussion, writing, coding, and strategizing to make this app functional. This went on for the rest of Friday and Saturday, then Sunday rolled around. Sunday was a blur with all of us rushing to make sure the app was running and the final presentation was ready for the judges. It’s difficult to really explain the roller coaster of a weekend, the whole event was amazing and exhausting, and I’m ready to do it again.

You have the chance to make something great and launch a real company in 54 hours, but more importantly, you can meet driven individuals in your community. Take this opportunity to build a disruptive company and join a class of startups grown out of Startup Weekend like LaunchRock, Scanadu, and Mingly. Did I mention you will be participating in Global Entrepreneurship Week?

Startup Weekend Bloomington 2011

Register Now!

$15 off registration Promo Code: sbox

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You always hear about the booming tech scenes in Boulder, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco, but you never really hear much about the blooming tech scene in the Midwest/Bloomington. Why is that? Is it because we really aren’t blooming? Or is it really because we haven’t had enough time for it to blossom to become the next big tech scene? There are probably many reasons why we have yet to be considered a big tech scene, but we are making strides to be recognized.

If any of you attended the TEN Conference in Columbus, Indiana, Brad Wisler, actually listed off six elements he believes are essential for a startup/tech community. The elements are creative culture, education, heroes and soldiers, sense of place, organized capital, and culture of risk. Bloomington and Indy have all of these elements. So we’re ready to take off but what’s the next step?

Getting more people involved is the next step. Many people in both Indy and Bloomington work very hard to put Indiana on the map as a tech hotspot. With groups like Verge, BloomTech, and events like The Combine, many of these heroes, soldiers, and risk takers, are brought together. These events and groups need to be well marketed because when movers and shakers are together great things happen. People collaborate on their ideas and boom, we have a new startup. Little by little these great ideas can help build the road to a big tech scene, you never know what could be the next Facebook or Groupon.

How can you help? Come to the events, spread the word, just get involved anyway possible. SproutBox, for the past few years, has been working hard to showcase the talent of the Midwest. We can only do so much, we need your help. So stay up-to-date on the events going on in Bloomington and Indy. The Bloomington Tech Partnership keeps the tech event up-to-date on their website. Also make sure to follow SproutBox on twitter and we’ll announce important events.

Upcoming Events:

• 11/9: hYPe: Internet Marketing 101: 5:30pm, Ivy Tech

• 11/10: Geek Dinner: 6:00pm, Greek’s Pizzeria

• 11/18-11/20: Startup Weekend Bloomington: 6:30pm, Ivy Tech

• Every Friday: Tech Lunch: 12pm

• Every other Tuesday: Tech Coffee: 9am, Pourhouse Cafe

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Have a brilliant business idea and want to pitch to a room of entrepreneurs, investors, and venture capitalists? Or what if you’re a startup and in need of some dev work, mentoring, or design work, but haven’t had the chance to find the help? Maybe you’re the investor looking for a great new idea to invest in? Then your calendars for the first event of  The Combine, The Open Pitch Session, Thursday, October 20th.

Last year’s Open Pitch Session was jammed packed with great ideas and opportunities. This year’s event will be held at Alumni Hall, doors open at 6:30 pm, event starts at 7. Immediately following the Open Pitch Session is Tech Cocktail where you can continue the networking with the VCs, investors, entrepreneurs, and startups.

Our very own, Brad Wisler, will be moderating the Open Pitch Session. We think of him as a mastermind in pitching, so he’ll be able to keep the ball rolling to try and get everyone connected and ideas heard. Bring slides, mockups, prototypes, or just an idea and be ready to impress in five minutes. Pitch from any stage of the idea because you never know who can help you out!

Going to pitch? Great, we want to make sure you get your time to shine, so please fill out this quick form. If time allows, we hope walk-ins will get a chance to pitch. Even if you aren’t pitching, go ahead and complete the form so we have an idea of who is attending.

Feel free to spread the word about Open Pitch. This event is open to the public.

Good luck, maybe you’ll hit a home run!

For more information about Open Pitch or The Combine, check out The Combine Blog.

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