PHX, You Made Your Mark
Well it’s been a month since Startup Week PHX 2018 wrapped up. What an awesome year!
To quote V (Stephen Viramontes, Chief Organizer for SUWPHX 2018),
“Our #1 goal was to create a great experience for entrepreneurs in the valley and across our state. We 100% did that. Five Vertical Days, a first in Startup Week history, were a huge win. They definitely brought many people in from beyond our core community. Plus, SUWPHX gives people a platform to step up and lead — it was great to see all that kickass talent come together to make this a huge success.”
Over 5 days, we had 6,025 attendees at 178 events in 17 venues. Seriously.
178 events (compared with 118 in 2017). If that isn’t a testament to the strong entrepreneurial spirit in Arizona, I don’t know what is.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for attending, volunteering, mentoring, sponsoring, and speaking at this year’s event. I have heard so much positive feedback over the last month, and that is due to your blood, sweat, and tears.
Oh, and if we didn’t meet during the week, let me introduce myself: Hi, I’m Mike Jones, CMO for Startup Week PHX (and managing partner of Resound). I worked with nine other totally kickass people on the leadership team under the direction of Stephen Viramontes to make 2018’s event happen.
Our generous community stepped up big time.
You know who else made it work? 98 volunteers who devoted over 900 hours of boots-on-the-ground community service to Startup Week PHX. You’re the reason this event is still by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. You all rocked this thing so hard.
And how about a little recognition for the over 100 valley business leaders who donated their time to this year’s mentorship program? With full-on businesses to run, these ladies and gents chose to travel into downtown PHX and give back to the next generation. Together, they donated over 400 mentoring hours between Monday and Friday.
How did the week go for you? According to our survey, 65% of you said you would rep Startup Week PHX to a friend, and everyone was pretty chatty on Twitter — our account tracked 768 mentions in the month of February. Thanks for all the love!
So 2019…
You can probably relate, but entrepreneurs don’t sit around very long. So we’re already talking about next year. If you have thoughts/opinions/a desire to help — we’d love to get in touch. We’re starting to think about next year: the city, the focus, the programming…. if you want to be involved in that conversation or help with planning, reach out. Seriously.
Takeaway: Deeper Connection
So, in all my conversations at SUW and after, I began to see a running thread in all the feedback.
We need more (and deeper) community for startups and entrepreneurs — founders, leaders, and producers.
Startup Week is a huge part of delivering on that need, but it shouldn’t be the only thing. Fortunately, we are a community full of brilliant people who can solve that problem. Let’s create ways to build better relationships and help each other out.
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
If you’re resonating with the need for more connection, I’m personally inviting you to play a role in the #yesPHX community. There are so many events and discussions happening all the time, so don’t miss out. And yes, hashtags and Facebook groups/slack groups are awesome, but let’s make sure our communication inspires us to action.
Here are some first steps to solving the disconnected discouragement we’re all experiencing.
- Show Up
There are events throughout the valley by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs: like 1 Million Cups, House of Genius, Street Pitch, Startup Grind PHX, and many, many more. Get involved in the happy hours and community projects (like #yesPHX’s Mexico housing project) that others have organized. Plus, there are so many groups in our state that may not be startup-exclusive, but are devoted to helping business grow in Arizona. Consider getting involved with Local First AZ, Conscious Capitalism Arizona, AZ Tech Council, and VentureShip (yes, I know there are more — list as many as you can in the comments, please)!
2. Volunteer
None of this stuff happens without effort, and we need each other. Find your cause and get invested. Whether that’s mentoring, organizing, running social media, or running registration for an event...heck, even cleaning up after an event—probably the most forgotten of key tasks for community building. Many hands make change possible.
3. Have a Voice
Join the #yesPHX Facebook group and Slack channel, and stay connected on Twitter. Keep making your mark and make sure your values are represented in the community.
4. Start a Thing
If you’re not finding a solution to a problem you’re having, make your own. Get your friends to help you. Reach out to us about it — we’ll rep you. We’re excited to see what happens next.
5. Think About (and Discuss) Our Community Values
At SUWPHX last month, we proposed some values that bind our community together with shared beliefs and goals. Do those resonate with you? Now’s a great time to start thinking about and discussing the entrepreneurial culture in Arizona and what hills we’re willing to die on as a group. So tell us, what do you care about? What do you believe?
I am confident that if we all put our heads together, we can truly make this the most generous community for entrepreneurs. We are the solution to our own problems, so if you see something broken, raise your hand to fix it. We welcome the perspectives and manpower. We can build this together. Put your ideas in the comments or Tweet at us @phxstartupweek!
Rock on PHX, keep making your mark.
P.S. Remember those recap videos you sent in and the Apple TV we promised? Well we’re announcing the winner. Congratulations to James J Stamatelos — thanks for volunteering as a mentor as well! To everyone who submitted, thank you for your thoughts and feedback. We’ll be posting your videos on Twitter over the next few days.
P.P.S. If you missed any keynotes during the week and are now suffering FOMO, we have them up on YouTube. You’re welcome.
