So... Today marked the beginning of StartMeUp@Stockholm 2010, with our pre-camp at Södra Latins Gymnasium!
It was a grueling 4-5 hours, with me torturing the 21 participants and boring them to death, and I'm sure they now want to murder me and abandon the camp itself....
... But to be honest, I had fun. (Maybe even more fun than the participants, since I was the one torturing them :P) I loved seeing the wonderful, creative, ideas that the teams came up with, and had lots and lots of fun just getting to know them! (I hope that I'll still remember all your names next week! >.<)
So now, introducing the 6 SMUS Teams (I hope I got the names right - We were so busy packing up that I forgot to write them down!):
1 - Bambibjörnarnas
2 - 2Cool
3 - Pental
4 - Have you heard about TED?
5 - Little Masters
6 - The Rockers
Funky teams, huh? And what a dynamic bunch of people they are! Our game highlights of the day were the Marshmallow Challenge and the Toilet Paper Challenge - Team games which saw our participants really coming up with some cool, creative stuff :) I also got to learn that some of our participants are rather aggressive sellers and *ahem* not so innocent :P We also got a 'customer complaint' from one of our buyers during the Toilet Paper Challenge, which led to me showing this video about customer support:
To learn more about United's mistake, take a look at this link here:
It was interesting for me, because I'm currently doing customer support in Load Impact, and one of the most satisfying things I've experienced is making an angry customer happy. Even if it means losing a little money, a happy/loyal customer is 10 times more valuable than an upset customer in the long run! But the team still handled it very well anyway, and their negotiation skills are fantastic - They ended up making the most amount of money during the Toilet Paper Challenge! :D Kudos to the team!
Lots of interesting stuff also happened during the camp, and pictures will be posted up soon (to show you guys what you missed!). But meanwhile, here's the 'assignment' that we've thrown out to our 29 participants for the next week, to help you guys prepare for The 20 Hour Challenge:
- Start identifying needs in your everyday life. It can be anything as simple as "I need something to help me track down all my stuff!" or "There are so many beggars around - I need to do something that can help get them off the street!" Try to find about 3 each day (you can probably identify a lot more!), and just scribble them down in your notebook
- Next week, we're going to combine all these ideas in your teams, and you guys will select one idea, work on a solution to this idea, package it and sell it! By the end of the workshops, you will have a business plan :) Over the next 20 hours, you will then execute these business plans, and this time, instead of getting SMUS dollars, you make real money. So bear in mind that you only have 20 hours to execute your solution and make money - don't come up with a product that takes 10 years to develop and manufacture!
- During this one week, you can collaborate with your teammates and make as much preparations as you like. The only requirement is that you cannot take money from your parents/friends, and whatever money you do use will be deducted from your final earnings. Apart from that, you can beg/borrow/steal. Well, maybe not steal. But you get the idea. Oh. And no sex, drugs, or illegal stuff either :P
- During this one week, you can collaborate with your teammates and make as much preparations as you like. The only requirement is that you cannot take money from your parents/friends, and whatever money you do use will be deducted from your final earnings. Apart from that, you can beg/borrow/steal. Well, maybe not steal. But you get the idea. Oh. And no sex, drugs, or illegal stuff either :P
So what do you have to bring for the camp?
- Sleeping bags/jackets/stuff to keep warm!
- Clothes/toiletries etc... Don't forget your toothbrush!
- Enough money for breakfast/lunch on the 5th Dec
Drop me an sms/call if you have any questions!
And for those who are still interested in participating, it's not too late :P We do have a little bit of space left, so sms/call/email me at the details below NOW so we can try to squeeze you in!
See you next week!
Chris
+46 704 27 00 76
followsmus[at]gmail[dot]com
P.S: To participants, we'd really appreciate any feedback/comments to you guys might have to help us improve! Please let us know if we can get better in any way!
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