Seattle Startup Weekend

Could it be? Since about 3:30pm, people here and there have been testing code that Dev has pushed out at the special secret squirrel location. This in itself is amazing.

Proof that even though there are a lot of us, we really are still a startup:  the wireless router we’d been hoping to rely on for non-Dev folks to reach the test site died within minutes of being opened up for that purpose. Now we’re relegated to the few spare hard-wired ports not already used by Developers.

UserEx is handling much of the early testing even though there are a lot of the rest of us anxious to get our hands on the new toys too. For now, though, just a couple of people are in there finding the obvious big rocks kinds of breaks so that they can get fixed and we can begin move on to something more stable.

Ultimately, the goal is still to be able to push out something tonight that you can see for yourselves. And even though it will still be rough, hopefully you’ll agree with us that it is good start to implementing an awesome idea that has great potential to live on past this weekend.

BizDev is putting the finishing touches on a business plan that includes focus on a generic, horizontal application of the skillbit ™ technology and selling into specific vertical markets.

The expectation is that everyone will love being able to leverage the skills already available on their teams, and we want to make that experience as personalized by industry as is humanly possible in an ad hoc group that initially comes together just for a weekend.

On that front, BizDev also sees amazing opportunity, and I agree. From Lindsay:

Because of the unique context where the idea was hatched and incubated, we enjoy some incredibly unique marketing benefits. As a community-centered entrepreneurial bootcamp, Seattle Startup Weekend is newsworthy in and of itself. As the context for creation and execution of a highly promising business, complete with patent-pending technology, Seattle Startup Weekend, skillbit and its founders are more than exceptional.

Yes, we are exceptional. Every single one of us.  And skillbit promises to be every bit as exceptional as the unique group creating it.

I keep thinking that I’ll write up something about skillbit - what our product is and what we do - and I haven’t yet. I’ve been trying to think of best how to describe this exciting new thing. I have finally decided that contrary to how a lot of executive summaries come across - more static than enthusiastically engaged - our crackerjack team has come up with a solid description that finds the right balance of excitement without the usual accompaniment of hyperbole. I hate hyperbole.

So here it is…

Small businesses, project teams, and DnD weenies are missing out. They have incredible skill and talent among their members, but the team leaders simply don’t know what resources they have access to within their own group. Money is wasted on consultants, bloated knowledge management software, and simple inefficiencies of communication. Of course, the team members are missing out, too. They have coaches, assistants, mentors, and friends sitting next to them and they don’t even know it.

What if a tool were created to help these teams of people build up a database of team skills? Searchable, lean, flexible, and powerful: You know your employees but with skillbit, you can also know what they know.

What makes this compelling is that skillbit lives in that smaller space where teams are big enough to not know everyone intimately and small enough to not want to have to spend big to be able to know and use the kind of information we make accessible.

The short version - teams no longer have to choose between working blind and spending big.

There is so much here that makes what we’re doing sound big, exciting, and powerful. And what’s particularly cool about it is that Dev is actually coding this. The breaking news is that we already have some patent pending technology in the works.

Wow.

I came in thinking about how I was going to immediately start posting. Instead, before I even had my jacket off and stuff set down, I was in two quick back-to-back meetings. The first was on support costs for the financial model and the second was looking at next steps in BizDev, which includes synching up the actions and public-facing language.

The public-facing language is important - once we got past the thrashing and wheel-spinning yesterday, we started moving pretty quickly, albeit very organically - and the result is a mish-mash of language that’s not yet cohesive. In fact, there were some branding errors that went out in last night’s press releases that have to be corrected now today. Oops. And you know what - these things happen in real life too, so it’s good to notice now, fix it, and move on.

Maybe that’s the motto for how we work - Notice, Fix, Move On

I managed to get some tea in there somewhere too, and some awesome Costco bagels, courtesy nPost, and while I was still not yet set up and connected on the laptop, I took the opportunity to wander through and see what everyone else is up to already this morning.

UserEx is continuing to hash out look and feel with Design and functional specs with Dev Liaison while the Dev folks are off in their corner doing what they do to “make it work”. Wish I could provide more detail on exactly how that’s happening except that in my effort to mostly leave them alone to do their work and as a result, it’s mostly black box to me at the moment. Heck, I only just learned that the D in Django is not silent. Silly me.

Given how long it’s taken us to find agreement and acceptability on some things, it should be nothing short of miraculous that we have a tagline we’re willing to use.

You’re Team’s Potential, Now.

And… it’s on the skillbit ™ website!

Gives you chills…

Hitlist is empty! Let’s put some milestones up there!

Biz Dev went to get coffee - fill-in reports two models explored, both broad and vertical. The numbers on the broad play won out. Wow, knowledge-based decision-making at its best!

Design - getting navigation worked out - may have a template complete within the half-hour

Dev - at 7pm, did a post-mortem of previous 8 hrs while having dinner. Found out who knows what (maybe wish we already have the product in play!) . Starting to hear more about functional specs so can figure out how to move forward.

Marketing - competitive analysis done, still working on financial models. Putting finishing touches on the pitch.  Also have a press release completed and ready to send out to major local media outlets tonight with the hope to get someone out tomorrow for coverage.

- Kimm

Possible names for the product you haven’t even seen fully described yet.

TalentCapture

SkillMash

SnapSkill