Speed dating for startups

Speed dating for startups and world café methodology are some of the methods that allow startup companies to make their ideas known to other startups or even ordinary people. That is what we practiced last time at class. The speed date process is when each member of a startup presents to another member briefly their startup while the world café method is when the members exchange groups.

Representing the startup called “Eu Travel” I described to another team the main point of our startup as a pitcher. Eu travel is a free travel-guide application. We offer non sponsored information and suggestions regarding monuments and landmarks, nightlife, cuisine and up to date activities mainly in Europe. The experience was new to me and I was very satisfied with this process. The most interesting part was the fact that in a few minutes you had to give the person next to you a complete presentation of your work. Being the pitcher of the startup I learned that if you have this role you have to be very accurate with your description, fast and with confidence. You have to be able to include all of the important information for the description in order to make the partner understand what you are offering with no rehearsal. At the same time when the peer student asks a question you need to have an answer ready.

My next role was being the listener, asking questions and providing advice to the person describing their startup. As a listener, your listening skills have to be great in order to listen and point out the deficiencies of yours partners sayings. From this part I learned that this is not such an easy step as you have to be very concentrated and isolate all the noises around you in order to listen to everything the peer student has to say. Last but not least for the role of the observer I learned that this part gives you a lot of advantages. One on them is the opportunity to observe the pitcher’s expressions, body posture and generally their behavior as well as the listener’s.

To conclude this experience was unforgettable because it was new and at the same time inspiring. What I have gained from this process is very helpful for the growth of the startup. Speed dating is probably something that startup companies need to do if they want to learn more about their project.