RocketFuel Storms Memphis Startup Weekend 2009

“What did you do this weekend?”
“Started up a company in three days.”

Entrepreneurial spirits were high this weekend at Emerge Memphis, as the RocketFuel team gathered to participate in 2nd Annual Startup Weekend Memphis hosted by Launch Memphis.  The sold out event provided a forum for 70 entrepreneurs to discuss, develop and birth ideas in just under three days.  

Last year, Launch Memphis hosted over 100 people at Emerge and one idea was born, Spynner.  This year things were carried out a little differently.  With fewer people contributing and a dozen ideas presented, Startup Weekend demonstrated the great power behind smaller work groups.  From the dozen ideas that were presented, five made it to the final process.  

“The answer to a business problem is not to throw more people at it, but to throw less people at the problem and make better, faster decisions,” says Reuben Brunson.  RocketFuel knows the power in smaller numbers as a small and successful web design company.  

Most of the RocketFuel team plugged into a project called TheRollPlay.com that was created by a great RocketFuel friend, Kevin Yancy.  The site will allow writers, casual and professional, to share a character and build stories with other “The Roll Play” members.  This site will be a great way for aspiring and working writers to get the ball rolling on their own ideas.  

Once everyone split into the 5 idea groups, The Roll Play group divided into 3 teams: Site Development, Business Development and Site Design.  Roles were assigned to each team and everyone promptly went to work under a 54-hour deadline.  Because RocketFuel made up half of The Roll Play team, everyone’s work styles fit together for a smooth and successful process. 

The Roll Play idea came to life after 2 full days of work.  The Roll Play is currently a live, functional website.  The business development team, including our own Lisa Reeves and Lori Brunson worked to get the marketing aspects in place, including finding ways to monetize the site early and tie it into the development of the site.  Planning marketing schemes for a product that is not yet developed completely can be an energizing task.  

John Waddell, a designer with RocketFuel, chose to work on a project called Mister Menus.  This is a site that allows a viewer to search where to eat by dishes.  This way if you need a restaurant that has both sushi and a great steak you can easily locate it.  John says his favorite thing about Startup Weekend was, “The challenge to work so quickly.”  Caitlin Woodward, RocketFuel’s Senior Developer, and Kevin Yancy stayed at Emerge from Saturday morning to Sunday evening to get their work done.  Plus, it was just so darn fun.

It is remarkable, but not surprising, that a group of driven, caffeinated Memphians created several projects in just 54 hours that are either functional or just a step away.  “My favorite part was the sense of community,” says Lisa Reeves.  The attendees were full of excitement and everyone chipped in to make all the ideas work well.  If someone needed a cheerleader for their current task, they could look to their left or right and there was someone with encouragement.  

Memphis is full of ambitious, adventurous people.  Startup Weekend taps into this market and uses the great minds that are scattered around the city.  If working in small teams is your thing, you have an enterprising spirit or you just love a good weekend full of friendly networking, Startup Weekend is the place for you. 

Learn more about Startup Weekend at Launch Memphis.  Thanks again to Launch Memphis, Emerge and all the great individuals for a fantastic and creative weekend!