UPDATE:
By popular demand, YOU can now get the T-Shirt too!

WE MADE IT!

And that in LESS THAN 12 HOURS! WOW! THANK YOU!!!

Here's the Big Idea:

I'm a self-financed (bootstrapped) Norwegian startup entrepreneur in Cologne, Germany and I've recently been invited to receive the official Lean Launchpad Instructor training and certification at Stanford, California from professor Steve Blank, one of the godfathers of Silicon Valley, the father of Customer Development and the grandfather of the Lean Startup movement.

Blank teaches the Lean Launchpad curriculum at Stanford, Berkeley, Colombia and more on Customer Development, Business Model Generation and the Lean Startup Methodology. It's a big deal in entrepreneurial education. Harvard Business Review recently published an article about why.

And in between founding my own startups, I also teach at our universities because I am incredibly passionate about creating more capable entrepreneurs in our region and great entrepreneurial education is one of the pillars of a great startup ecosystem.

Now I want to take it to the next level and officially bring the most amazing educational program for startup entrepreneurs to Cologne and build a bridge from Silicon Valley, Stanford and Steve Blank to us in Cologne.

And that's not all! I've also been asked to hold a talk at Stanford about our Cologne ecosystem, what makes us unique and what we are doing over here and I think it would be a damned shame if we'd lose out on this incredible opportunity to get our voice heard in Silicon Valley, at Stanford, in front of Steve Blank himself!

And YOUR help is needed to build this bridge over the Atlantic because I believe this should be a team effort. This is not about me. It's about us in Cologne, about our future as a leading startup city, and we should all be able to own a part of this effort to lay these first fundamental building blocks.

Because for a nominal one-time effort, together we can bring the world's leading startup entrepreneurial education from Stanford to Cologne and gain an awesome advantage for our ecosystem for years and years to come - AND to get our voice heard and be noticed in the birth-place of the startup.

What's Needed & What You Get

I need around 1.999,- EUR in total for the flight, accommodation, sustenance and some pocket change. I have the great fortune to have been offered the educational program and certification at Stanford for free, which means we don't have to pay the 3.300,- USD fee on top of that.

Economy Flight:               800,-
Late booking due to short notice unfortunately made it pricier

Discounted Accommodation:625,-
blackbox.vc will graciously host me at a discount for 10 nights

Sustenance:                     308,-
22 a day for 14 days; yes it's a more expensive place than Cologne

Pocket Money:                   266,-
Taxi, bus, rails, unexpected stuff, etc. 19 a day for 14 days

IndieGoGo Fee:      minus ca. 42,-

Which leaves us at a aproximate total of 2.000,- and I'm putting my money where my mouth is and paying half of that - So now we only need 1042,- to make this happen.

If we are unable to reach the goal of 1042,- within June 16th - I will not be able to go. I will not be able to share our story about the Cologne startup scene at in Silicon Valley, at Stanford, to Steve Blank and the other international students. There will be no bridge to the Valley, no amazing startup entrepreneurial education to take home to Cologne, no  incredible advantage for our ecosystem for years to come.

If we however manage to beat the goal, I promise to donate every cent above the goal towards the next Startup Weekend Cologne 2014 and name each and every one of you as official private sponsors of that amazing event!

And what do I have for you in addition to the satisfying feeling of supporting entrepreneurial initiative and great entrepreneurial education in our region and getting our scene represented in Silicon Valley and helping to make great things happen for a lot of people for years to come?

Well, I thought it would be only fair to give you something more material on top of that, so I created some unique gifts and rewards to each and every one of you supporting this venture in entrepreneurial education for Cologne.

I'll share the insights shared with me at Stanfrod exclusively with you and I'll also help your startup or company create content and publicity from and in the Bay Area.

On the right hand side of this page, you'll see the assortment of unique rewards for you as a sponsor.

Who Am I and Why Should You Trust Me With This?

My work with startups have been featured and recognized around the world and I lecture at select European universities on startup entrepreneurship.

In addition to founding my own startups, I volunteer for several well known and international entrepreneurial organizations and communities, I am a certified instructor with NEXT Cologne and I've met Steve Blank on previous occations.

In the past, I co-founded the Plone content managemen system used by The FBI, The CIA, NASA JPL, Yale University and many more.

Currently, F100 enterprises like Deutsche Telekom trust me to consult them on Corporate Entrepreneurship.

And you can learn more about me and keep track of me on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, my blog and some references from other people.

Only Together Can We Make This Happen

I know there's a lot of you out there who are just as a scruffy bootstrapping startup founder as me and some of you are students so I'll totally understand if you are not able to contribute. I can relate to that and we're obviously still cool. No worries.

However, everybody is able to contribute by sharing the link to this campaign and share the message on twitter, on facebook on email and carrier pidgeons and smoke signals and so on. The more we reach, the more likely we can make this happen. The more we REPEAT sharing, the more likely. So don't be shy to click those share buttons over and over again. That's the only way to reach above the noise of the social media stream and make people notice.

So it is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to USE THOSE SHARE BUTTONS here on this page AGAIN AND AGAIN so we will be able to reach as many as possible and make this amazing thing for Cologne happen!

NEWEST: The Awesome Value Pack

Can't make up your mind? Get all three of the following rewards and super-save!

NEW! Wear the heart of Cologne

I'm adding a brand new perk to celebrate that we made it! YOU are the heart of the Cologne startiup scene - And now you can wear it and share it everywhere you go! (And of course there's also a t-shirt cut for WOMEN - just make sure to mention which you want, w/m, EU size, A or B color!) Order now on the right hand side->

SHOW Don't Tell: Love That Sticks!

We know Cologne LOVES startups. Now here's the obligatory laptop startup sticker to show the world! Get yours before they run out. Order now on the right hand side->

Let's Spend an Evening Together and Share about the Trip to Silicon Valley

When I come back, I'll throw a unique one-time seminar sharing what I learned from the training at Stanford from Steve Blank, the latest in Lean Startup, Customer Development and what I picked up from visiting a lot of companies in the Valley - over free beer and snacks. You know it's just going to be awesome meeting up, so don't miss out! Reserve one of the few limited tickets before they run out! Order now on the right hand side ->

YOU can Bring the Lean Launchpad to YOUR City or Corporation NOW

I already do this for NEXT and F100 corporations. And now for you too: I'll come to your city or corporation - any where in the world - and run a cohort of the Lean Launchpad curriculum - the premium entrepreneurial education program known from Stanford and Berkeley - for a max of 10 teams, 1-5 persons per team over a 5 week program. All inclusive - for a limited time only! Pre-book now as price and availability may very likely change after I come back. Order now on the right hand side ->