See what you can build in a weekend.
Bring the skills and life experience you already have. We’ll add a team, expert mentors, a proven process—and plenty of great food.
Over one exhilarating weekend, you’ll help turn an early idea into something remarkably complete: real customer insight, a tested concept, a prototype, a plan for finding customers, a business model and a five-minute pitch.
You don’t need an idea. You don’t need startup experience. You don’t need a business background.
Start Friday with curiosity. Finish Sunday with something real.
Startup Weekend is an immersive, professionally facilitated experience in building a venture from the ground up. On Friday evening, people pitch early ideas. You can pitch—but you absolutely don’t have to. You’ll join a team around an idea that interests you, then spend the weekend researching the problem, talking to potential customers, developing a solution and working out how it could become sustainable.
On Sunday evening, each team presents what it has learned and built to an expert judging panel.
It’s fast-moving, challenging, collaborative and extraordinarily rewarding.
By Sunday, your team will have:
Identified a meaningful customer problem.
Tested its assumptions with real people.
Developed a product or service concept.
Created a prototype or mock-up.
Explored branding and marketing.
Considered how to find its first 100 customers.
Built a workable business model.
Prepared and delivered a five-minute pitch.
You’ll be amazed at what you can create in one weekend!
You already have something to contribute.
Startup Weekend needs more than founders and programmers. Teams benefit from people who can:
Listen and ask good questions.
Understand people and communities.
Organise tasks and keep things moving.
Design, write, research or communicate.
Work with numbers, systems or technology.
Sell, persuade or present.
See practical problems and possible solutions.
Support other people when things get intense.
Bring curiosity, energy and lived experience.
You might be a student, parent, freelancer, employee, technologist, career changer, community worker or simply someone who wants to discover what startup life is really like.
You can arrive without an idea. You can join someone else’s team. You do not have to pitch.
“Maybe you’ll pitch. Maybe you won’t.”
Richie — specialist manufacturing entrepreneur and Startup Weekend mentor
“Maybe you’re there because you’ve got some skills you want to give a workout. Maybe you’re there just for the fun of it. All of those are valid reasons.”
What the weekend feels like
There is a phenomenal energy when a room full of people decides to build something together. You’ll move quickly. You’ll test assumptions, change direction, solve problems and see your team make progress in a matter of hours. You won’t be left to work it out alone. Two specialist Startup Weekend facilitators guide the entire process, while experienced mentors help teams through customer research, marketing, finance, legal questions, business models, technology and pitching.
“I didn’t know what to expect.”
Sam — freelance graphic designer
“I was quite nervous going in, and we just had a ball of a time… I wouldn’t worry about what your skill sets are. There was such a variety.”
“I moved to Taranaki and didn’t know anybody.”
Frank — manufacturing process consultant
“I turned up on Friday evening not knowing what it was all about, and pretty quickly got settled in and introduced to loads of really great people.”
“It’s a massive weekend—but you’re in good hands.”
Angela — medical doctor
“If you have an idea, give it a go—or jump in on another team. Either way, you’ll get so much insight and experience.”
Everything you need is included
Your ticket includes:
Dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Snacks and refreshments throughout the weekend.
Beverages during Sunday night’s celebration.
Two specialist Startup Weekend facilitators.
Onsite expert mentors.
Practical modules in customer research, marketing and pitching.
All workshop materials.
Expert judging, feedback and critique.
A supportive team and wider entrepreneurial community.
Continued, capped entrepreneurial coaching if you choose to keep developing your idea after the event.
Potential pathways into incubation and further support.
Dietary requirements can be accommodated.
Bring a laptop or tablet if you have one, along with a reusable water bottle and coffee cup. Wi-Fi is provided.
What happens across the weekend?
Friday evening: Find your team
Meet the other participants, hear one-minute idea pitches and vote for the ideas you find most interesting.
Pitch if you want to—or simply join a team where your skills and curiosity can help.
Saturday: Test, learn and build
Get out of the building, speak with potential customers and discover whether the problem and proposed solution are real.
Work with mentors to develop the concept, prototype, customer plan, marketing and business model.
Sunday: Refine and present
Turn what you’ve learned into a clear five-minute pitch.
Present to expert judges, receive practical feedback and celebrate what every team has achieved.
Winner and runner-up certificates are awarded on Sunday night. The winning team also receives a period of coworking space to help maintain its momentum.
What happens afterward?
You do not have to continue with the idea after Sunday. The experience, skills and relationships are valuable in their own right.
If you do want to continue, capped entrepreneurial coaching is available to every participant or team that keeps working on its idea, with potential incubation opportunities as the venture develops.
Startup Weekend can be an extraordinary weekend—or the beginning of something much bigger.
Tickets
Standard ticket — $99
The complete supported weekend, including facilitation, mentoring, materials, seven meals and ongoing coaching access.
Student ticket — $49
Available to eligible students. Participants aged 16-17 require parental consent.
Returners ticket — $49
Been there, done that? Experience the magic again, and bring that extra experience to a whole new team.
Caregiver access ticket — $39
Five sponsor-supported places are available for primary caregivers who need to arrange care to participate.
Community-access ticket — $39
A limited number of sponsor-supported places are distributed through selected community partners for people facing employment transition or financial barriers.
If cost could prevent you from attending, contact info@doso.nz confidentially. We want everyone with genuine curiosity to have a fair opportunity to participate.
Practical details
When: Friday 13 November, 5:30pm-10.30pm
Saturday 14 November, 8am-10.30pm
Sunday 15 November, 8am–7.30pm
Where: Manifold Coworking Space
49 Currie Street, New Plymouth
The event runs for the full weekend. Participants should plan to attend all three days so their team can rely on them.
Travelling from outside New Plymouth? Contact us about accommodation suggestions and possible carpools.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an idea?
No. Some participants pitch ideas; many join someone else’s team.
Do I need to know anything about startups?
No. The process, facilitation and mentors are there to help you learn by doing.
Do I need technical skills?
No. Teams need researchers, communicators, organisers, designers, marketers, practical problem-solvers and curious generalists as much as they need technology skills.
What if I don’t know anyone?
That is completely normal. Teams form on Friday evening, and the shared experience creates connections very quickly.
Is it only for people who want to start companies?
No. Some participants continue with their idea, while others attend to learn, contribute, meet people and experience how a startup works.
Is the weekend intense?
Yes—it is immersive and fast-moving. It is also carefully facilitated, well supported and a great deal of fun.
What if I cannot afford the standard ticket?
Student, caregiver and community-supported options are available. Email info@doso.nz confidentially if cost is the only thing preventing you from attending.
See what you can build in a weekend.
13–15 November · Manifold, New Plymouth
Event facilitators, judges, mentors and sponsors to be confirmed
Signature sponsor
Gold sponsor
