The Launch48 Weekend is about building web businesses with a group of people from a range of backgrounds and different sets of skills.

The Launch48 Weekend is different from most hack-days and entrepreneurial events because:

1. We have a great set of mentors that work with groups to develop their web business
2. Each team has 20 to 25 people working on each idea from a broad range of backgrounds
3. Participants meet, learn from, and work with many people throughout the event
4. All aspects of a business are covered including planning, marketing, PR, branding, design, finance, and development

The format of the event is (when run over a weekend, time dependent on venue):

• Friday evening from 6:30 pm – pitching begins, web business ideas are selected by the participants, and groups are formed
• Saturday from 9 am to 9 pm – work begins on the web businesses, mentors work with groups
• Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm – work continues, web businesses are launched and presented, networking dinner for all participants held from 6:30 pm

Before the weekend

We strongly encourage participants to start interacting on the Launch48 Network and utilise it in the following ways:

1. Brainstorming and discussing ideas – It is highly beneficial if participants start brainstorming ideas on the Launch48 Network before the weekend since time is of a premuim over the weekend and we will dive straight into the pitching at the start of the event! Also, if you have an idea which you want to explore, this is a good time/place to discuss it so that you get some traction as well as feedback on it.  All ideas presented at Launch48 must answer the following points:
   • Name
   • The Idea and the problem it is solving
   • Business model and monetisation strategy
   • The target market & competitors
2. Interacting, networking and communicating with each other.

First day – 16th of October (18:30 to 21:00)

1. Round 1 of pitching: The team gathers for a round of 60 second pitches from its attendees. The more ideas the better! Please check the points above which you need to cover in your pitches. Remember, the aim is to create businesses which are viable. After a simple vote from the attendees, the top ideas get selected for Round 2 of pitching.
2. Round 2 of pitching: This time around the participants pitching will have 2 mins and should include a brief Q&A. After the pitch, a simple vote is carried out and we will choose the top ideas to be developed over the next 48 hours (the number of ideas chosen might vary depend upon the number of participants since we would ideally like to have around 20-25 participants working on each idea)
3. Teams, roles and leadership structure defined – All the participants are divided into teams with an idea to work on for the rest of the weekend. Teams at this stage normally divide roles among themselves. Typical roles include Product Development, User Interface, Business Development, Marketing/PR/Communications, etc.
4. Depending on the venue, if we can stay longer people can begin to work on their ideas and plan for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday, 17th of October (9:00 to 21:00)

1. Saturday is the first full-day for attendees to work on their chosen idea.  Saturday will consist of planning, reviewing, and begining development of the web business.
2. During the day there will be 2 board meetings for each team:
   1. The first board meeting will cover; introductions, a brief description of the product they are creating, a brief description of board meetings, what the team will be focussing on until the next board meeting, how to make the best use of mentors, who to speak to if they need any help.
   2. The second board meeting will cover; what the team has achieved, what problems the team is facing, what they should be focussing on for the rest of the day
3. Mentors and sponsors will be popping in to see how teams are going, and offer their assistance.  It is wise for teams to plan how they are going to use the mentors and sponsors so they can make the most out of them.

Sunday, 18th of October (9:00 to 21:00)

1. Testing, tweaking, and refining is the aim of Sunday. It is an opportunity to begin deployment, marketing, and integration of the product and business model. In the second half of the day, participants will need to begin thinking what they want their role to be after the weekend. A management team for each web app will need to be decided.
2. During the day there will be 2 board meetings for each team:
   1. The third board meeting will cover; what the team has achieved, what they should be focussing on for the rest of the day, what is to be presented at the final presentation
   2. The final board meeting will cover; what the team has achieved, any last minute problems, any final questions before the presentations
3. Teams will be given the opportunity to present their work to the other attendees at the end of the event.  This is an opportunity to explain the problems each team experienced, what they achieved, and what they intend to do after the event.  Depending on the venue, the final presentations will begin about 5 pm.
4. Networking will follow after the presentations.