RampUp Weekend 2022 Team Formation Guide Tips & Tricks
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Dare to step out of your comfort zone by joining #RampUp2022!
Looking to test your knowledge and expertise in a fun and challenging environment? Ready to bring what you have to the table but don’t know where to start?
Here is the complete guide to forming a dream startup team at Ramp Up Weekend 2022!
This action-packed event welcomes individuals with all sorts of knowledge, experience, and expertise to create the next big startup. You may be coming in ready to bring your business idea to life, or just want to participate and put your skills to the test. Whatever your reason may be, we’re here to help guide you through the exciting process of team formation and create a memorable experience for everyone.
Friday Night Pitch + Team Formation
- On Day 1, June 3rd, attendees will have the opportunity to pitch their own ideas within a tight 60-second time frame.
- If you don’t have an idea, listen to all the pitches and see which resonates with you and your skills the most.
- Some startups may need individuals with specific expertise to bring their vision to life and that might be you!
- After all the ideas are pitched, everyone will vote for their favourite ideas by putting sticky notes on the wall.
- The top ten startups with the most interest and traction will be given 20 minutes to begin the chaotic yet critical process of team formation – a cross-functional group of hipsters, hustlers, and hackers.
- The rest of Friday evening is spent brainstorming how to bring your MVP business to light and creating a plan for the rest of the weekend.
What is the “Dream Team”?
- It takes a team with the right combination of personalities, skills, and expertise to bring an idea to life!
- An ideal startup team comprises hipsters, hustlers, and hackers.
- You will be given a sticker for each one you identify with to make the team formation process easier.
- These three roles complete a puzzle – they need each other to see the bigger and complete picture.
- Participants commonly self-identify with one or two of these categories and pick which ones are their strongest suit.
- You may not fit well within these categories or belong in more than one, and that is perfectly fine!
- Hipsters bring creative energy to the idea. They are typically the marketers, graphic designers, UI Designers (User Interface), UX Designers (User Experience) who bring the startups’ stories to life. With the right marketing plan, customers will capture the essence of the product or service and buy into their story.
Hackers are technology experts and are rockstar problem solvers! Software Developers (Front and Back End) and Engineers bring their toolkit of tech experiences and solutions to build the actual product or service. They establish the foundational tech that forms the building blocks of these businesses. The technical aspects they produce, combined with a compelling marketing plan from the Hipsters, may result in a product that’s hard to miss.
Hustlers take the Hipsters and Hackers’ wonderful work and get it into the hands of customers! They are typically in the fields of sales, accounting, business advising, business model development, and legal. Hustlers eat, sleep, and breathe business strategy and guide their whole startup through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Startup culture is rooted in their decisions and keeps everyone on track for their goals.
Tips on pitching and voting:
- As the voting occurs, it becomes obvious which ideas will move forward and which will not.
- It is crucial to listen to everyone’s ideas attentively and keep your eyes on projects that might interest you.
- For some participants who pitched an idea, they may become a participant after the top 10 ideas are chosen.
- This means it may not be the moment for some projects, and that’s okay!
- Your idea is not guaranteed to go forward and also means you could pitch it again at a future #RUW.
Tips on building your dream team:
- Have a sense of character judgment – you’ll be spending a whole weekend with these individuals! It may be difficult to do this in 20 minutes, so do your best when networking with participants who you’d be compatible with.
- Make mental notes of the pitches, know three or four companies you’d want to proceed with, and immediately join your top choice.
- Quickly move to an alternate choice if it does not end up working with your chosen team. Bigger teams may not always mean better results, so choose wisely!
- It’s about the process, not the result of being a winner! Participants learn so much from this whole experience, so enjoy the journey.
Second-guessing about joining? Think of this weekend as your introduction to entrepreneurship. If you can learn how to develop a business on a weekend, the rest of the 51 weekends for the year will be a piece of cake!
It may seem to be a huge commitment, but you can take away a lifetime of learning, camaraderie and experiences.
We’re looking forward to seeing you!