Another Louisiana weekend

Central Louisiana just held their first Startup Weekend, bringing Louisiana’s total number of Startup Weekends held to date up to a grand total of three. The first two Louisiana events were held here in Baton Rouge last year.

Startup Weekend provides experiential education for entrepreneurs through weekend-long events held around the world. Founded as a nonprofit in 2008, they’ve run 500 events to date in 95 countries. They’re experiencing exponential growth and are on track to run 500 events this year alone. To support this growth, they’ve tapped into their network of organizers to train volunteer facilitators to ensure each event stays true to the Startup Weekend mission and vibe.

I am a global facilitator for Startup Weekend, so I headed up to Alexandria this past Friday to kick the event off and facilitate the weekend. It was the sixth Startup Weekend for me (Denver, two Baton Rouge events, Raleigh Triangle, and part of a Paris event).

One of the best parts of Startup Weekend and why I’m so enthusiastic about the organization is they believe in creating, connecting, and supporting the community of entrepreneurs. Connecting entrepreneurs with each other and with support resources is a critical part of developing a thriving entrepreneurial culture in our cities and across the globe. Workspaces and programs for entrepreneurs are worthless without the entrepreneurs themselves. Connecting entrepreneurs locally builds local benchstrength.

The central Louisiana event included attendees, coaches, speakers, and judges from across Louisiana: Lafayette, Shreveport, Baton Rouge* and the central Louisiana area. With me as a Baton Rouge-based facilitator, it was Louisiana all the way. These budding entrepreneurial communities are now connected with each other. Plus, through me, they are now connected to the entire global Startup Weekend community. The buzz in the room, just like every other event I’ve been to, was all about hope, opportunity, connectedness, and inspiration.

Communities in Lafayette, Shreveport, New Orleans are planning on running Startup Weekends this year, and we’ll run a Baton Rouge event later this year as well. Connect with our local Startup Weekend community by joining our Facebook page (find StartupWeekendBR on Facebook, or just go here).

Every Startup Weekend I’ve attended attracts people who want to change their world. If that’s you, join the community. We’ve got some work to do.

*Props to Kenny Nguyen of Big Fish Presentations for being a speaker Friday night and providing a prize to the winner.