Launch48 Edinburgh: an inspiring start

I spent last weekend acting as a mentor at Launch48 Edinburgh over at the University of Edinburgh Business School:

I was invited to attend Launch48 Edinburgh as both a speaker and a mentor, and can’t imagine a more inspiring way to spend a weekend. My talk – on creating a startup from scratch with no budget and a two-person team, and the lessons I’ve taken away from that experience – was recorded, and I’ll try and post it here when it appears online. However, what I really want to talk about is the event itself, and the incredible teams that participated.

Launch48 has a simple, if daunting, premise: build a technology business, including model, marketing plan and prototype, in two days. Four ideas were picked out of a set of quick-fire pitches; the resulting teams were kept lean by the sheer speed of the event, and an array of mentors kept them on their toes, often encouraging them point-blank to reassess their ideas.

I’m enormously impressed with the results. Even when the teams didn’t manage to create a viable prototype, the talent on display was unquestionable. These are motivated, smart people who deserve to go places.

I talk about the individual teams over on the main post. I’ve spoken to quite a few of the participants since the event, and continue to be hugely impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing great things from them.

Image by Dan Monsieurle, released under a Creative Commons license.