Startup Weekend Vancouver happened at the start of June. People came out from all across the west coast to attend, as far north as Vancouver, BC and as far south as San Luis Obispo, CA. I'd like to say that it was a blast and fun to put on this event but it wasn't. Like most non-profit events, we had a lot of moving parts and at one point had setup a GoFundMe page because we thought we had more expenses than actual revenue from sponsors and ticket sales. Fortunately we were in the black with some budget money leftover for future events.
The Setup
Since the event platform is sponsored by Techstars and hosted by Google, a lot of the HowTo guides are found through shared Google docs. Before you can get started, you first need to apply to get your event date approved by Techstars--that is, if you are going to use their event platform for keeping track of receipts, sponsorships, team/speaker/mentor bio info, Eventbrite, etc.
Also, note that no Google Analytics tracking exists. If you want this level of tracking, you need to create your own event-specific Gmail account, Google Analytics account, Facebook Pixel, and Facebook/Instagram ad account. Facebook's dashboard for promoted content is extremely limited.
Time Commitment
It's a lot more than 5 hours a month in the two months before your event date. And there's a lot to do. Your primary focus if you are starting out with zero budget is to 1) request funds from TechStars in advance, if they're still doing such things, and b) start fundraising from local companies as soon as possible and have one or two organizers or volunteers responsible for following up, issuing invoices, and getting the money into your event's coffers.
Driving Ticket Sales via Word-of-Mouth and Social Media Ads
For the 2016 event, we raised roughly $2500 in ticket sales plus $1800 in sponsorships.
Hindsight is 20/20 and while Techstars has guidance on how the event could be organized and provides great tools for getting started in hosting an event, that's all it is. Your future startup weekend team really needs organizers who know event hosting, accounting/finance, and web/IT stuffs.
