<a rel="attachment wp-att-3596" href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2010/11/startup-weekend-tulsa-giveaway/swtulsa/"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3596" title="Startup Weekend Tulsa" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/swtulsa-500x107.jpg" alt="Startup Weekend Tulsa" width="500" height="107" /></a>

I'm a blogger who rallies for the small fries. But, I like corporate America as much as the next guy. After all, thanks in large part to corporate America, we have access to a lot of cool stuff: Cars smart enough to tell us how to get to our destinations. Phones that put the World Wide Web into the palms of our hands. Computers that can do 100 times as much in a fraction of the space than they could just a few decades ago. CEOs who break black turtlenecks out of the closets of theatre majors and French people and place them squarely into the hands of, well, anyone who can buy them at J. Crew.

It's created another thing over the years, too: The 9-5 corporate lackey.

There's lots that's actually pretty awesome about being a 9-5 corporate lackey. For one, someone else is in charge of making sure the company gets up and running each day (or has the responsibility of keeping it running 24/7). For two, someone else is usually in charge of earning the money to pay the salaries of you and your co-workers. For three, it's pretty nice when someone else picks up part of your health insurance tab or drops a little somethin'-somethin' into your 401k every once in awhile.

But have you ever wondered what it'd be like to be your own boss? Do you have an idea for a product or service that's been floating around in your head for years, and you're just sure it'd be the next big thing if only you have the time and energy to put behind getting it started? Can you imagine how fast those hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. would fly if they were your hours and didn't belong to someone else?

Then starting Friday night, a chair at Startup Weekend Tulsa is the place to plant your butt.

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But wait - WTF is Startup Weekend Tulsa? I asked the same thing when I first heard about it, so I'll tell you what was told to me: <strong>It's a 54-hour bootcamp for entrepreneurs where there's a little less conversation and a little more action.</strong>

The goal of the weekend is to kick start ideas and jump start companies, to go from an idea to launch. It's an event that compresses the work of planning and researching and getting a business rolling - a process that normally takes six-12 months in the real world, and that's if you're lucky - into just one weekend.

In other words, <strong>it's the ultimate entrepreneurial immersion experience</strong>. It's like going to France for a year to learn to speak French like the French, except with Startup Weekend you're traveling to Entrepreneur Land to learn how to be fluent in kicking ass in the business world.

The 2010 Startup Weekend Tulsa is our city's second event of its kind, and it's kicking off <a href="http://tulsagew.com/">Tulsa's Global Entrepreneurship Week</a>, a celebration and recognition of the rich culture and community we have here in this town that supports dreamers, doers and fledgling business owners.

What I love about Startup Weekend Tulsa is that it's not just another one of those dumb business seminars that's a total waste of your time and patience. No one is going to preach at you all weekend long or try to sell you silver bullets that they promise will make you a millionaire in a week. Instead, you're going to have the freedom to move and shake and put a real, live business together, free of the distractions of every day life, all with your own two hands.

I'd expect you to take my word for it only so far. That's why I should probably tell you that three founders from the five companies started at the 2009 Startup Weekend Tulsa are now full-time entrepreneurs. One of them is my very loud and very awesome friend <a href="http://tulsa.startupweekend.org/2010/11/03/swtulsa-2009-success-story-matt-galloway/">Matt Galloway, founder of the company Architactile</a>, which made it into some of the final rounds of this year's <a href="http://www.tulsaspiritaward.com/">Tulsa Entrepreneurial Spirit Award</a>. Another is <a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2010/09/compadres-taco-eating-contest/">my partner in taco eating contests</a>, <a href="http://tulsa.startupweekend.org/2010/11/03/swtulsa-2009-success-story-geoffrey-simpson/">Geoffrey Simpson</a>. Now he heads up Diner Connection, a company that saves restaurant goers from those evil light-up buzzer thingies and replaces them with sleeker, cooler text messages.

So, yeah. Startup Weekend is the real deal. In the past three years, 115 Startup Weekend events have been held around the globe. Nearly 600 startups have seen their launch, more than 5,000 entrepreneurs have been inspired, and some teams even started to generate revenue during the event. SW veterans will tell you that it's one of the hardest, most intense, most rewarding weekends of your life.

Here's how the Tulsa version is gonna go down:
<ul>
	<li>Friday, Nov. 12th, 6pm: Doors Open. Eat and drink some free stuff.</li>
	<li>Friday, Nov. 12th, 7pm: Startup Weekend Tulsa 2010 starts. Squee!</li>
	<li>Friday, Nov. 12th, 7:45pm: Elevator pitches begin. What, did you think you were going to get to sit around and fish for lint in your belly button for awhile? Heck, no! This is Startup Weekend Tulsa we're talking about here. Get the hell moving.</li>
	<li>Friday, Nov. 12th, 8pm: Teams form.</li>
	<li>Friday, Nov. 12th, 9pm: Closing time. In other words, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Teams often head to a bar or coffee shop to do yet more work.</li>
	<li>Saturday, Nov. 13th, 9am: Mornin', sunshine! Doors open. Eat some brekkie - it's the most important meal of the day, especially when you're plotting business world domination. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.</li>
	<li>Saturday, Nov. 13th, all day: Work, network, plan, research and generally put the smack down on your business idea. And maybe sing to it a little. (Karaoke systems/microphones not provided. Sorry.)</li>
	<li>Saturday, Nov. 13th, 9pm: Doors close. Blow off some steam with some libations.</li>
	<li>Sunday, Nov. 14th, 9am: Doors open.</li>
	<li>Sunday, Nov. 14th, 9am: It's the last day of Startup Weekend, so if I were you I'd work, network, plan, research and take care of business at the speed of light. Or, at least at the speed of sound. And I'd probably also look into getting a different hair cut. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.</li>
	<li>Sunday, Nov. 14th, 7pm: Final team presentations are due! Nervous? Just picture everyone in the crowd naked and you'll do great.</li>
	<li>Sunday, Nov. 14th, 9pm: That's all, folks. You now have the tools to exchange the 9-5 for the 9-9. As in, 9am-9am. But hey, at least they're your hours and not some dude's in the corner office, right?</li>
</ul>
You guys are chomping at the bit to go to this thing now, right? Well, that's good. Because I have two Tulsa Startup Weekend registrations, each a $75 value, to give to two lucky TDT readers. All you have to do is answer this simple question:

<strong>Where were you when you had the lightbulb moment - the instant in which your business idea was born?</strong>

Or!

<strong>If you don't have a business idea in mind but would like to attend Startup Weekend to learn how start-ups work, what would you want your business to ultimately accomplish?
</strong>
I'll let Random.org pick the winners tomorrow bright and early at 8am. I'll post the winners soon after, so be sure to check back here to see if you're one of the lucky guys/gals.

And here's a pretty sweet consolation prize in case you don't win: You can register for your spot at Startup Weekend
for less. Use the code SWTasha at checkout and get $25, or more than 30 percent, off the price of your pass. Sweet, right? I know. You're welcome.

Good luck, and remember to say you knew me when - back before you became a famous, bad-ass business owner.

<strong>Tulsa Startup Weekend</strong>
When: Friday, 7pm-Sunday, 9pm
Where: TCC Center for Creativity, 9th and Boston in downtown Tulsa
Web: <a href="http://tulsa.startupweekend.org">tulsa.startupweekend.org</a>

<em>Tasha's note: This giveaway is sponsored by <a href="http://tulsa.startupweekend.org/">Startup Weekend Tulsa</a>.</em>