500 of Us Wolves, Running Around
in the Desert Together...
— 500 & VTF FOUNDERS ONLY —
JAN. 10-11, 2015
LAS VEGAS, NV
During the Saturday un-conference, participate in small group breakouts & AMAs with (L to R): Christine Tsai (500), Khailee Ng (500), Aaron Batalion (LivingSocial), Dave McClure (500), Elizabeth Yin (500/LaunchBit), Bedy Yang (500), Andy Dunn (Bonobos), Tony Hsieh (VTF/Zappos) & others.
500 Startups and the VegasTechFund are teaming up to throw a Fabulous Founders' Weekend at the Downtown Container Park, a new hub of entrepreneurship, innovation and [cue Wonka]...pure imagination.
On Jan. 10-11, 2015, we have a killer weekend planned with unconference-style talks & workshops, family-style meals, and McClure-style fun & games. Be prepared to meet, mingle & learn from each other.
Oh, what's that? Just the desert wind calling your name. Join the wolf pack, and register already.
- KEYNOTE TALKS & PANELS: Featuring Dave McClure, Tony Hsieh, Andy Dunn, Aaron Batalion + More
- OFF-THE-RECORD BREAKOUTS: Share pain points & brainstorm remedies in small groups
- GROWTH WORKSHOPS: Tackle case studies with the 500 Distribution Team
- LIFE-SIZE FUN & GAMES:
Dodgeball w/ Dave, Ping Pong Tourneys, Giant Jenga, Twister, Four Square, Tic-Tac-Toe, Cornhole, Hiking + More - WOLF PACK YOGA + DANCE PARTY: Wake up & howl at the sunrise w/ DJ Jazzy Jess
- FOOD TRUCKS & FIRE PITS: Mmm, s'mores.
NOTE: Registration includes weekend programming, activities & meals. This is a founders-only event.
SPEAKERS
Dave McClure
Founding Partner,
500 Startups
@davemcclure
Tony Hsieh
Founding Partner,
VegasTechFund
@tonyhsieh
Andy Dunn
Founder & CEO,
Bonobos
@dunn
Elaine Wherry
Co-Founder,
Meebo.com
@elainewherry
Aaron Batalion
Co-Founder & Former CTO,
LivingSocial
@abatalion
Katrina Lake
Founder & CEO,
Stitch Fix
@kmlake
Erik Torenberg
Co-Founder,
Product Hunt
Christine Tsai
Managing Partner,
500 Startups
@christine_tsai
Bedy Yang
Managing Partner,
500 Startups
@bedy
Khailee Ng
Managing Partner,
500 Startups
@khailee
Marvin Liao
Partner,
500 Startups
@marvinliao
Susan Su
Distribution Content Manager,
500 Startups
@susanfsu
Tristan Pollock
Entrepreneur-in-Residence,
500 Startups
@writerpollock
Poornima Vijayashanker
Entrepreneur-in-Residence,
500 Startups
@poornima
Edith Young
Partner, Mobile Collective,
500 Startups
@edithyeung
Sean Percival
Partner,
500 Startups
@Percival
Jess Erickson
Director of Marketing,
500 Startups
@Jessjerickson
Mat Johnson
Distribution-Hacker-in-Residence,
500 Startups
Justin Mares
Distribution-Hacker-in-Residence,
500 Startups
@jwmares
Andrei Marinescu
Distribution-Hacker-in-Residence,
500 Startups
@malaparte
Elizabeth Yin
Entrepreneur-in-Residence,
500 Startups
WEEKEND AGENDA
WEEKEND START:
Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 @ 9:30 PM
Address: Bunkhouse Saloon, 124 S. 11th St., a couple blocks from Downtown Container Park
Festivities will kick off with live rock 'n' roll music & mingling at the Bunkhouse Saloon.
>> NOTE: There is a $7 cover for entry, and a cash bar will be available for drink purchase. The Bunkhouse also serves grub, so feel free to come hungry.
UN-CONFERENCE START:
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 @ 8:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Address: The Learning Village / WOW Trailer, 727 Fremont St., just off Downtown Container Park
Parking: There is an all-day $5 parking garage at E. Ogden Ave. & N. 7th St.
Let the un-conference madness commence with keynote talks & interviews, off-the-record breakouts, growth workshops, food trucks, product giveaways + more.
UN-CONFERENCE AGENDA
8:30 - 9:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast of Champions
9:30 - 10:00 AM
Livin' La Vida Llama: Tony Talks Zappos, VTF & the Pursuit of Happiness
Solo Talk by Tony Hsieh, Founding Partner, VegasTechFund, & CEO, Zappos
>> NOTE: Llama = Tony's fave animal
10:00 - 10:20 AM
Building Company Culture—Not by the Seat of Your Pants
Solo Talk by Andy Dunn, Founder & CEO, Bonobos
10:20 - 10:35 AM
Shhhhh! What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
Off-the-Record, Ask-Me-Anything session with Andy Dunn, Founder & CEO, Bonobos
10:35 - 10:55 AM
Product 101: How to Talk the Talk to Walk the Walk (& Get $h*t Done)
Solo Talk by Elaine Wherry, Co-Founder, Meebo (acquired by Google)
10:55 - 11:10 AM
Caffeine Break
11:10 - 11:40 AM
From 10 to 100 to 1,000 to 1,000,000 (& Beyond): Every Zero is a Battle
Moderator: Dave McClure, Founding Partner, 500 Startups.
Panel will include founders who have muscled through growth of various types (customers/users, employees, fundraising dollars, etc.) and will explore key insights + hard-won lessons learned.
Panelists Include:
- Aaron Batalion, Co-Founder & Former CTO, LivingSocial
- Marcelo Camberos, Founder & CEO, ipsy
- Katrina Lake, Founder & CEO, Stitch Fix
- Elaine Wherry, Co-Founder, Meebo (acquired by Google)
11:40 - 12:35 PM
Growing Up Is Hard To Do: Secrets, Tips & Tricks from the 500 Distro Vault
Case studies presented by the 500 Distribution Team + Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session:
- Dominic Coryell
- Mat Johnson
- Justin Mares
- Andrei Marinescu
- Susan Su
12:35 - 12:45 PM
Product Hunt Play-by-Play: How to Make the List & Get Discovered
Solo Talk by Erik Torenberg, Co-Founder, Product Hunt
12:45 - 2:00 PM
Lunch Break — Fuel up, Founders. Fuel up!
2:00 - 3:30 PM
Group Therapy: Verticals
Share case studies & lessons learned, tackle growth problems & make new founder friends during off-the-record, small-group breakouts led by 500 partners, EIRs, distribution experts & other members of our fabulous fam.
- E-commerce
Led by Aaron Batalion, Co-Founder & Former CTO, LivingSocial
>> Growth Expert: Dominic Coryell, Distribution Hacker-In-Residence @ 500 Startups
SIGN UP for 2015 E-commerce Meetup Announcements
- Marketplace
Led by Tristan Pollock, EIR @ 500 Startups & Co-Founder of Storefront
Growth Expert >> Andrei Marinescu, Distribution Hacker-In-Residence @ 500 Startups
Sign Up for 2015 Marketplace Meetup Announcements
- SaaS/B2B
Led by Elizabeth Yin, EIR @ 500 Startups & Co-Founder of LaunchBit
Growth Expert >> Justin Mares, Distribution Hacker-In-Residence @ 500 Startups
SIGN UP for 2015 SaaS / B2B Meetup Announcements
- Family/EdTech
Led by Christine Tsai, Managing Partner @ 500 Startups
Growth Expert >> Sean Percival, Partner, 500 Startups
SIGN UP for 2015 Family/EdTech Meetup Announcements
- FinTech
Led by Poornima Vijayashanker, EIR @ 500 Startups & Founder of Femgineer, & Bedy Yang, Managing Partner @ 500 Startups
Growth Expert >> Susan Su, Distribution Content Manager, 500 Startups
SIGN UP for 2015 FinTech Meetup Announcements
- AdTech (including Mobile/Video)
Led by Marvin Liao, Partner @ 500 Startups, & Edith Yeung, Partner @ 500 Startups
Growth Expert >> Mat Johnson, Distribution Hacker-In-Residence @ 500 Startups
SIGN UP for 2015 AdTech Meetup Announcements
3:30 - 3:45 PM
Snack Time & Break
3:45 - 4:30 PM
Group Therapy: Founder Pain Points
Lightning Talks BY FOUNDERS FOR FOUNDERS on the three most important challenges (& opportunities) in starting up:
- Building Company Culture & Productivity > Khailee Ng, Managing Partner @ 500 Startups
- Hiring & Managing a Team > Tiago Paiva, Co-Founder & CEO, Talkdesk
- Fundraising (Crushing the Series A) > Tawheed Kader, Founder & CEO, ToutApp
4:30 - 5:00 PM
Founder Pain Points Panel + Audience Q&A
Panel Moderator: Dave McClure, Founding Partner, 500 Startups
Panel will include the speakers listed above and will dive deeper into the topics, strategies & struggles covered in their lightning talks. Audience Q&A will follow.
5:00 - 5:45 PM
State of the #500STRONG
Solo Talk by Dave McClure, Founding Partner, 500 Startups, followed by an Off-the-Record, Ask-Me-Anything session. Hit him with your best burning question — but he may tell you to f*ck off.
5:45 - 6:00 PM
Trivia Time + Portfolio Product Giveaways
Get excited. Dave will surprise the entire audience with "BRAND...NEW...CARRRRS!"
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Nap Time & Break
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Grub Time
Address: Downtown Container Park — Place on 7th, 115 7th St.
Step right up for a yummy food truck dinner! Choose from Mediterranean, Burger & Sausage options.
>> Pro Tip: Bring a jacket — it's cold at night in the desert.
9:00 PM
Unofficial Event > Downtown Las Vegas Startup Block House Party
Address: 1710 S. 10th St. (A bus will leave from The Place on 7th at 9:00 PM.)
Tealet, a 500 & VTF portfolio company, invites founders' weekend attendees to join them at their Tealet Teahouse, part of the Downtown Las Vegas Startup Block neighborhood, for an evening of tea, homemade sweets, whiskey/tea cocktails, dance, fire spinning, ninja sightings, and perhaps even a llama (yes, a llama — Tony's fave animal).
SUNDAY FUNDAY START:
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015 @ 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Address: Gold Spike, 217 N Las Vegas Blvd., just off Downtown Container Park
Parking: There is an all-day $5 parking garage at E. Ogden Ave. and N. 7th St.
>>NOTE: Every activity, excluding morning yoga & the afternoon hike, will happen at Gold Spike.
Relax and join us for a day of optional social activities scheduled every hour on the hour. Not into organized play? That's cool. We will also have NFL Division Playoffs on the big screen & game-day appetizers to boot! Feel free to hang out, have fun & do what you do.
8:30 - 9:30 AM
YOLO! Morning Yoga
Address: Golden Nugget Hotel - Bel Air Room, 129 E Fremont St.
>>NOTE: Mats, water and towels will be provided.
10:00 AM
BACON, BACON, BACON & Brunch
>>NOTE: Veggie options will be available.
11:00 AM
Town Hall Meeting: 500 Community, Communication & Keeping Up the Crazy
Wrangle up some trouble w/ Madboy Max Fram-Schwartz, Principal, 500 Startups, in an open meeting to explore ideas for community improvement and network development.
12:00 PM
Game Playing at Gold Spike: Giant Jenga, Cornhole, Tic-Tac-Toe, Darts, Connect Four, Ping Pong, Twister, Chess, Four Square (...seriously, how much more do you want?)
—ALSO—
OFFICE HOURS @ GOLD SPIKE:
>> Need 1:1 Growth Help? Participate in walk-up office hours w/ the 500 Distribution Team.
>> Need 1:1 PR Help? Participate in walk-up office hours w/ Jess Erickson, 500's Director of Marketing.
1:00 PM
CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER > Founder Dodgeball with Dave
>>NOTE: Protective headgear and knee pads are strongly recommended.
—ALSO—
OFFICE HOURS @ GOLD SPIKE:
>> Need 1:1 Growth Help? Participate in walk-up office hours w/ the 500 Distribution Team.
>> Need 1:1 PR Help? Participate in walk-up office hours w/ Jess Erickson, 500's Director of Marketing.
2:00 PM
CHANGE OF PLANS! > Howl yes! Indoor Rock Climbing at Nevada Climbing Center
>> NOTE: Bus will depart promptly at 2:00 PM from Gold Spike and will return by 5:00 PM.
—ALSO—
CHANGE OF PLANS! > Freestyle Rap Battles & Workshop at Gold Spike
>> Instructor: Erik T-berg, Founder & CEO, rapt.fm
3:00 PM
Organized Ping Pong Tourneys
Tourney Leaders >> Chris Pearson, BD & Partner Program Associate, 500 Startups, & Meghan Christenson, SF Office Manager, 500 Startups
4:00 PM
Pitfire S'mores Send-off
5:00 PM
So Long, Farewell & Howl On, Founders!
IF YOU DON'T COME FOR THE CONTENT...
Come for the f*cking t-shirt.
FRONT
BACK
500 Of Us Wolves,
Running Around In The Desert Together...
2015 Founders Weekend, Las Vegas
ACTIVITIES
Friending
Food Trucking
Game Winning
Outdoor Pillow Fighting
Workshopping
Dodging Balls
LOCATION
Downtown Container Park
As part of the Downtown Project, the Container Park was created to help incubate local small businesses and create an urbanized version of a town square for locals to connect and collide, with both daytime and nighttime activation. Oh yeah, and it’s made completely of shipping containers stacked upon each other. How cool is that?
Gold Spike, our Sunday event venue, is the ultimate adult playground. Activities include, but are not limited to, giant Jenga, Twister, ping pong, foursquare, cornhole, and outdoor pillow fighting (for the more mature crowd).
ACCOMMODATIONS
YO! BOOK FLIGHTS & HOTELS NOW
The following hotels are within walking distance (5 min. max) to the Downtown Project. Book your rooms ASAP to ensure the lowest rates. It's a busy weekend in Vegas (due to CES), so rates will go up and hotels will sell out.
Click above to book to get a special rate of $142/night (tax included).
Click above, or call 702-768-9823 and mention "Founders' Weekend" to get a special rate, starting at $178/night (tax included). You may also email david.sosa@downtownproject.com.
PRO TIP >> The website may say they're out of rooms for the weekend, but PSYCH! Rooms are still available. Give 'em a ring.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR EVENT PARTNERS
#500STRONG ANNUAL PARTNERS