Startup Weekend Atlanta

The press release: a Word doc with tracked changes that is completely mottled with blue and red to the point it has become virtually unreadable, by the people who are working on it, and anyone who might receive it.

How did it get that way? It’s Version 1.1.1.1.1.1, that’s why. PR/Marketing takes charge. No more cooks, someone has to take the lead, and it’s PR/Marketing on this one.

From the Startup Weekend Atlanta blog, I’ll also be jumping in to write a few posts for the Skribit blog (I’m still nervous about posting the link, because it hasn’t been working so well yet.)

You know what this means, don’t you?  This means I’m blogging about blogging about a blogging tool for bloggers.

Don’t you wish a more elegant word than “blog” had emerged to describe something so revolutionary and genre-defining?  (Blogs, I mean, not what I’m writing.)  (Besides, my pet peeve is using the word “blog” to describe a “blog entry.”  Blog refers to the collective set of individual entries, not just one of them….just had to get that out of the way.)

I’ll keep slogging through the blogging.

I just have to get that out of the way.  Our breakfast today is biscuits with egg, cheese, turkey bacon, chicken sausage, and some kind of tasty sauce.  I remember Flying Biscuit from a trip here more than 10 years ago — it was that good, although the atmosphere doesn’t hurt either.  Great way to start the day.  Even at 9:30, quite a few people are already here cranking for the day.

…may be hard to come by amongst a group of mostly strangers, but the beauty of Startup Weekend is that it happens.  Right before I left for the day last night, Lance said, “Come check this out.”  (He wouldn’t let me bring my computer, so I’m doing this from memory, but the impression is more important than what actually happened.)

Finally a bunch of people had hit a groove — they were rolling.  Someone was drawing things on the whiteboard.  A team of three was taking pieces of it and coding it in real time.  Problems were getting solved instantaneously.  Leaders had emerged, because they had figured out exactly how to communicate to one another to get the job done.

Similarly, among the PR/marketing team,  a massive to-do list was under consideration.  People stepped up and grabbed their assignments.  What looked like an impossibly long list transformed into a plan.

Sometimes the structure of the weekend makes it hard for that to happen.  Sometimes the personalities in the room make it hard for that to happen.  But with time and perseverance among those who stay (and sometimes it takes people going home, whether for the evening or because they’ve dropped out) the synergy always seems to eventually happen.  And it’s a beautiful thing when it does.

They’re starting a blog. They need blog entries. I’m blogging StartupWeekend, but I’ll help out with the Skribit blog. That is, if I can ever get access. There’s BaseCamp and the WordPress blog, so it’s not that simple.

Who wants to do viral: Jake says, “Fuck yeah, I’ll do viral.” That’s the spirit. He’s elected.

Kelli spells her name with one L on her checks. So her name will never get forged. And she’s going to write something, as is Laura, who might actually get some freelance work out of this deal — loving the connections that get made here.

It’s almost the end of the day….lots of good stuff going on here.

As previously discussed, Georgia has some antiquated liquor laws.  No alcohol purchases on Sunday, starting at midnight.  Reality has sunk in that if we don’t get adequate beer soon, there will not be any to fuel tomorrow’s work.  So this being a take-charge kind of group, several have assembled to make a run.  I’ve put in my request for some wine.

…from Samantha Murphy.

She tunes, Andrew rallies the troops:  step away from the laptop.  Some of the guys don’t seem so interested in the female singer/songwriter from nowhere really (she doesn’t have a current address, but just forwards everything from one address to the next — currently she’s up to six, she says.)   She happens to be in Georgia, and she’s a big fan of Startup Weekend, and Andrew’s a big fan of hers, so it works out really well to be doing something other than whatever it is we’re doing currently.

It started in Boston, where one of the co-founders brought Samantha by.  She’s on Twitter and she gets tech.  Take this and chill out, Andrew says.

I’m only here because of the men-to-women ratio, she says before she starts strumming.

Most are reasonably raptly listing.  Except for the Dev team, who can code without missing a beat, her beat.

Some Assembly Required, she sings.

Samantha is here for a panel at Georgia Tech, and has an online radio show:  SMtv.  She confesses, “I’m a geek too.”

…we must learn to be silent and still, her next song concludes.  Good lesson for some, for most.

In the Laundromat:  Background:  when you live in New York, your apartment has to be close to the laundromat.  Moral of the story:  don’t let your clothes pile up, or a hot guy will hit on you at the laundromat when you’re not looking your best.

(At DCSW, we discussed the concept that the less time you’ve spent on your personal hygiene, the more likely it is you’ll have an opportunity to get lucky.  Why is that?)

She worries that her stuff is a little girl-focused, given that she’s singing to a room of exactly three women and dozens of guys.  It is a good men to women ratio — or a not-so-good one, depending on what’s important.

Samantha wins us over.  It was the nice break that Andrew promised.  Better than yoga even.

…which is funny, because I’m a lawyer. But this weekend, I’m a blogger. Lance gets everyone to sign in, and urges them to read the relevant info.

There are some really spiffy stock certificates that all Founders will get. Earn. There are binders of documents that a lawyer has carefully prepared. It’s all very organized.

Lance says in serious voice: this is important stuff. Read it carefully. He has extra copies for everyone to read. He means it. Sort of.

I actually believed him until we started talking about the funding strategy, which involves a page where everyone signs away rights to their organs. Do we have enough kidneys in the room to make this work?

I learn that you cannot buy beer in the state of Georgia after midnight. This could be a problem, given the consumption that has occurred already. Runs to Chattanooga and other border towns are discussed.

…lack of connectivity interlude (luckily it didn’t last nearly as long as the one at DCSW did)

people keep asking: do I have a choice whether to sign? Sure you do, but you won’t get any shares if you don’t. It’s an LLC, baby.

During a lull, I signed everything. I will be the proud owner of skribit stock. (Or whatever they call the corporation. In DC, we opted for Cozy Bridge, LLC.)

Lance reveals his true motives: by forcing us to provide our SSN, he can now infiltrate all of our bank accounts. Except he really needs the mother’s maiden name part.

Are there tax implications?

If this takes off, will there be an office here?

So many questions, so little time.

I haven’t been to all the Startup Weekends, but I’m sure Andrew will back me up.  It’s always a problem, but it’s intensified during the 56 hours or so we have to work it out.  Everyone wants the weekend’s product to have the nifty features that distinguish it from everyone else, and wants to perform at the level at which he or she is capable.  Reality is starting to set in, though.

Which means the words “feature creep” are uttered with increasing regularity.  What is in alpha, beta, vs. may never happen unless this thing really takes off?  Feature creep can be real, as in “it’s not humanly possible to do that this weekend,” or a way to dismiss an idea that isn’t a priority.  Either way, it’s important to keep in mind, and a staple of all startup weekends.

Nice outline from BaseCamp Writeboard for everyone to see, with organized list of features in priority order. Looks good.

What are the Widget requirements?

Jason adeptly fielding lots of questions from the Devs. Alan backing him up.

CAPATIA — not to be confused with CAPTCHA. Hold that word — it might be a good Web 3.57 concept. Or a band name. Hopefully it’s not a rare medical condition that afflicts those who are here until midnight tomorrow.

Jason finally says, “I don’t care, you work it out,” about some detail that has occasioned much discussion. Momentary surrender from the UX team.

Brief Interlude for an Important Announcement: Andrew announces that Samantha Murphy is going to come play and sing for us. She’s a recording artist — for real — who’s in town performing, played for the Boston group, and is awesome! (Wasn’t that word banned already? From all Startup Weekends?)

Back to the Jason and Alan show:

Reader Admin Requirements?

IRQ (don’t you know what IRQ is, silly? Oops, we meant IRC, which a few more people have heard of.)

Attention is flagging, some people have drifted away for the evening, are we debating what is, in essence, feature creep?

Blogger Admin Requirements? Long but pretty self-explanatory list.

Are you guys paying attention? Jason asks. Hmmm….if you have to ask, what do you think the answer is? But people assure him they are indeed listening.

UX has a lot of stuff here. Is it real or is it feature creep? Devs, step up and hold your ground. Or you’ll be some very frustrated puppies tomorrow about 10 PM or so. Oh no, it’s the “remember Sunday midnight” reminder. Which will pop up with ever-increasing frequency the closer we get to said hour.

Clapping. Much work to do. Back to work until the musical interlude.