Media Advisory - Mayor an enthusiast for Queenstown Startup Weekend

“No talk, all action” is the promise that the organisers of Queenstown’s first Startup Weekend are determined to deliver next week.

Local entrepreneurs Jose Ganga, Darren Craig and Nathan Donaldson are hosting the event as part of a worldwide grassroots movement to teach potential entrepreneurs how to validate their business ideas, gain an audience and develop a product to launch – and all this within 54 hours.

Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Vanessa van Uden said the Startup Weekend was “an amazing opportunity” for wannabe entrepreneurs to hook into the expertise and networks that could help make their ideas into a sustainable enterprise.

“I’m excited that this is happening in Queenstown. Just like Gigatown Wanaka, this is an example of the kind of local initiative that can really help grow and sustain our economy,” Mayor van Uden said.

“One of the key themes of the draft Economic Strategy for the district is the need to diversify the types of businesses that flourish here. The Startup Weekend is just what we need to get those creative juices flowing.”

Jose Ganga says that the Startup Weekend would bring together the “tremendous pool of creative designers, business minds and technology brains that exist in Queenstown.”

Queenstown’s event is just the latest in a worldwide movement that has involved over 45,000 participants. Simultaneously with the local event, there are 24 other Startups occurring around the world, from Bogota to Brazil and Bulgaria. Organiser Nathan Donaldson says over a third of the new enterprises that the Startup events have hatched are still going strong after three months.

“This weekend is effectively a crash course in starting a business,” he says, and participants will learn techniques that can be applied in any setting. “We have an amazing team of over 13 mentors on board – having access to them all in one room for a weekend is probably a first for Queenstown.”

Startup Weekend is a non-profit community-based event, so the cost is a nominal $99 per person, including food. It starts on Friday night, 17 October, and runs through to the end of Sunday. Register on-line at http://bit.ly/swqueenstown or find out more at https://www.facebook.com/StartupWeekendQueenstown.

The organisers say they are still looking for more sponsorship for the event. Anyone interested in sponsoring the event should email queenstown@startupweekend.org, or contact Darren Craig on 021 743107.

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