Cuba USA
The Merchise Startup Circle, which has been encouraging Cuban software startups for some time has organized a Havana Startup Weekend for November 6-8.
Here is the weekend schedule:
They've had some trouble with the online registration system -- if you have trouble send an email to [email protected] giving your name and a brief description of your background, like "Programmer/freelancer/ruby & prolog" or "graphic designer/etc").
You can also check it out on Facebook or Twitter.
I wish I could there!
-----
Update 11/9/2015
Forty eight people took part in the weekend and 27 projects were proposed. The group voted on the proposals and selected eight to be worked on by teams during the rest of the weekend.
At the end of the weekend, the jury awarded first place to My Storefront, an app to enable people to exchange used clothing; second place went to the team working on Help Yourself, an app that matches recipes to the ingredients in your refrigerator, and third place went to Up Up, an app for creating off line posts on social networks. Sport City, a community of sports fans in the city, received an honorable mention.
Here is a five minute video giving a quick recap of the Startup Weekend and the projects people worked on:
For more words and pictures, check out @swhavana.
My guess is that the exchange of ideas and energy and new connections among people was the most important result of the meeting -- what next?
-----
Update 11/14/2015
Third place in the Startup Weekend went to an app for creating off-line posts to social networks -- an app well suited to a place with Cuba's minimal connectivity. If I had been there, I would have proposed an app that went in the other direction.
I would like a program or an Internet service that would take a blog like this one, and convert it to a single file in a common format like Word or PDF. That would allow me to create a snapshopt of the entire history of the blog -- including links, images and comments -- and share it with people in Cuba who do not have fast, online access to it.
The blog is on Google's Blogger site, so I would have to supply the template and current XML file with the contents. If it was being read off-line, the posts would be readily available and, since most of the links are internal to the blog, they would work also. External links would require a live Internet connection.
If someone built such an app for Blogger and for Wordpress, most blogs could be read off-line in Cuba.
-----
Update 11/17/2015
More Startup Weekend video -- a lot of energy and enthusiasm!
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Cuba USA
Merchise Startup Circle meetup and Startup Weekend
The Merchise Startup Circle, which has been encouraging Cuban software startups for some time has organized a Havana Startup Weekend for November 6-8.
Here is the weekend schedule:
- Friday evening people will present short proposals for startups and those voted best will be worked on during the weekend. Teams will be formed around the chosen ideas so people will collaborate and learn from each other.
- Saturday, the teams will meet at 9 AM and work on their proposed projects with the assistance of technical and business mentors. There will be food and the teams can work late into the night if they want to.
- Sunday will be for demos and judging. The winners will advance to compete in the regional event of the Global Startup Battle..
They've had some trouble with the online registration system -- if you have trouble send an email to [email protected] giving your name and a brief description of your background, like "Programmer/freelancer/ruby & prolog" or "graphic designer/etc").
You can also check it out on Facebook or Twitter.
I wish I could there!
-----
Update 11/9/2015
Forty eight people took part in the weekend and 27 projects were proposed. The group voted on the proposals and selected eight to be worked on by teams during the rest of the weekend.
At the end of the weekend, the jury awarded first place to My Storefront, an app to enable people to exchange used clothing; second place went to the team working on Help Yourself, an app that matches recipes to the ingredients in your refrigerator, and third place went to Up Up, an app for creating off line posts on social networks. Sport City, a community of sports fans in the city, received an honorable mention.
Here is a five minute video giving a quick recap of the Startup Weekend and the projects people worked on:
For more words and pictures, check out @swhavana.
My guess is that the exchange of ideas and energy and new connections among people was the most important result of the meeting -- what next?
-----
Update 11/14/2015
Third place in the Startup Weekend went to an app for creating off-line posts to social networks -- an app well suited to a place with Cuba's minimal connectivity. If I had been there, I would have proposed an app that went in the other direction.
I would like a program or an Internet service that would take a blog like this one, and convert it to a single file in a common format like Word or PDF. That would allow me to create a snapshopt of the entire history of the blog -- including links, images and comments -- and share it with people in Cuba who do not have fast, online access to it.
The blog is on Google's Blogger site, so I would have to supply the template and current XML file with the contents. If it was being read off-line, the posts would be readily available and, since most of the links are internal to the blog, they would work also. External links would require a live Internet connection.
If someone built such an app for Blogger and for Wordpress, most blogs could be read off-line in Cuba.
-----
Update 11/17/2015
More Startup Weekend video -- a lot of energy and enthusiasm!
-
Kill Castro and Blog for Cuba both have a post concerning the the 7 year old girl that was picked up by a cruise ship. Can you believe this: On Thanksgiving weekend. Elian was also picked up on Thanksgiving weekend. A coincidence, no way! I believe this...
- Internet-related Announcements Around President Obama's Trip To Cuba
There were important financial and university-related announcements. Last month, I speculated on possible Internet-related announcements that might be made in conjunction with the visit of President Obama. Nothing I mentioned came up, but let's look...
- Cuban Internet Interruptions
Is there a connection between Cuba's email interruption and access to the Reflejos blogs? Cuban email has been interrupted and colleague Doug Madory discovered that access to Cuba's Reflejos blogs at is inconsistent. One can access the Reflejos...
- Will The Nascent Cuban Startup Community Thrive?
The first meetup of the Merchise Startup Circle will be held in Havana on May 23. The event is being organized by a couple of Cubans who have worked abroad and hope this is the first of many meetings for people interested in startups, tech and entrepreneurship....
- The Us Will Allow Imports From Cuba's Nascent Private Sector -- Will Cuba Allow Software Exports?
Will Cuban programmers be allowed to sell software and do offshore programming and localization in the US and online? Many people have asked me whether I expect the Cuban Internet to thrive after rapprochement with the US, and I tell them that is up to...