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Why did you launch a crowd-funding campaign?
Many of my
friends and individuals whom I have met throughout my travels want to hear my
story, but I don't have time to share it one by one. The solution is then to
record my journey’s learnings inside a book. However this requires money.
Furthermore I am passionate about what I do and I would like to share my design
works, postcards and posters with the world.
How will you spend the money you earn here?
After
deducting the fee to Indiegogo, part of the money would cover the cost of
publication, rewards production, as well as delivery cost. The other part would
go towards supporting my journey, with expenses including transportation fees,
apartment rent and meals.
Why is your aim for this crowd-funding campaign $2000?
I set
$2,000 as a goal because it is not too difficult to reach, so people can hear
my story. I'll stay in the US for 3 months and go on a total of 10 trips whilst
in the country. I estimated the expenses at $10/day for dining, $250/trip for
transportation, and $2,000/month for renting an apartment (surely some days
would be couch-surfing). These expenses will be complemented with my savings.
Why do I need to hear your story?
There are
several reasons. First of all, I am probably the very first person to travel
around the world joining startup competitions everywhere I visit. Second, I am
one of a very few select group of students who studied in mainland China and
Finland, two extreme educational systems. Third, I have learnt very useful methods
to manage time and money as well as ways to balance study and travel. Fourth,
you will be exposed to many amazing projects born in Startup Weekend events in different
countries, which you treat as reference. Last but not least, you can see the
power of Startup Weekend and its community. To sum up, I believe it to be a
special story, which can inspire you.
What is inside the book?
I am still planning the structure of the book,
but the following topics will be covered:
Travel:
Introduction to the places I have traveled to, some attractions that are worth
visiting when pressed for time as well as my routines whilst I was there.
Startup: My favorite projects in each Startup Weekend. The projects I worked on, things that changed my life and the way I think, interesting
stories from my teams, the crucial elements of winning a pitch and tips and
tricks on team management while a company is in the startup period. In sum, all
of what I learnt while at a Startup Weekend event, be it business or otherwise,
will be covered.
Money: The
system I used to manage different currencies, tips and tricks on how to save
money the “Keith way” ;)
Time: How to
balance out study and travel as well as effective ways to properly manage your
time and energy.
Education: What
I have learnt about the different cultures across all the places I have
traveled to as well as differences in education in mainland China and Finland.
Besides money, what kind of assistance do you
need?
The number
one thing you can do to help me is to kindly share it with your friends. While
I am finding a base to settle in the San Francisco region to stay during the
weekdays, I will go traveling during the weekends. I would thus highly
appreciate if anyone could provide me with a couch-surfing place or with a fair
rental fee.
Hey! Are you being paid to advertise Startup
Weekend?
No. Startup
Weekend is a non-profit event. I just want to share my story which is a travel
journey with Startup Weekends.
Why is the delivery day so late?
I am
confident that I can finish the first draft of the book within 3 months after I
come back to Hong Kong from my USA travels. However, since I am not a native
English speaker or writer, I need to send it to my friends for proof-reading
and review. Hence, I scheduled to publish and deliver my first book in March
2016.
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Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups!
On Friday evening, attendees have 1 minute to pitch their new idea, and try to inspire others to join their team. With a team of designer(s), developer(s) and people with a business background, they can begin building their startup.
During Saturday and Sunday, teams implement the lean startup methodology. They do market research, construct a business model, design prototypes, validate the concept with potential customers, etc.
On Sunday night, each team presents their business model and demonstrates the minimal viable product to a panel of judges. The winning teams are awarded with amazing prizes and often go on to start real business after the event!
Startup Weekend is a non-profit event, where the local organizing team consists of volunteers. They seek sponsorships to reduce the ticket price, so more dreamers can gather in one place, and make miracles happen in 54 hours. They are truly awesome!
As stated in Startup Weekend’s official webpage, 1,500+ events have already taken place in over 726 cities. Out of these, over 13,000 startups were created and more than 123,000 entrepreneurs participated. Check it out and join the movement at: http://startupweekend.org/
This is where you will probably find Keith in the coming weekends ;)
By joining a Startup Weekend event, you can:
Meet a co-founder or future partners, learn new skills, validate business ideas, build up a network, be guided by experienced mentors, and much more...
Take it from me, you won't regret it after participating in a Startup Weekend.
Please also check out UP Global, the non-profit group which organizes the events. Startup Weekend is part of a series of events they organise, alongside: Startup Next, Startup Digest, Startup Week, and Education Entrepreneurs.