One of the biggest challenges that startups founded at Startup Weekend can sometimes face is building on the huge amount of momentum that the 3-day competition ignites. Think about it: mind-bendingly tight deadlines, shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration, midnight coffee runs - how can our team of eight possibly recreate the experience of participating in the productivity-pushing competition? This question led our talented group of TransitHubbers to introduce a new, Startup Weekend-inspired element of how we work together which we call "Sprint Saturdays"...
"Sprint Saturdays" works exactly as how it sounds - an all-day development and working session meant to bring back that Startup Weekend magic. All the elements from that weekend are in place: a large, round table to hang around and work, giant flip charts and a mess of post-it notes, even the "scrum" updates for everyone to update the rest of the team on their progress. Our goal for the day: bring the whole team together for an extended period of time and bang out as much sh*t as we possibly can! :)
If there's one way in which "Sprint Saturday" differs a bit from Startup Weekend, it's this: we've lowered the register on the stress (which is a prerequisite for SW participants) and upped the ante on a very important factor: fun. Yup, more than anything, "Sprint Saturdays" are a blast. Picture this: jokes and one-liners flying across the room, impromptu photo ops (often at the most embarrassing times!), and more food - and tea - than anyone can handle (more Indian Chai tea, please... it's addicting!). Enjoy the photos from the most recent Sprint, graciously hosted by Arvind!
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| Round tables, shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration: THIS is Sprint Saturday! |
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| Neil is all business as he studies what is surely a critical spreadsheet. Sorry to disturb you, Neil! |
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| Ian arrives and asks for a very important update: where's lunch?! |
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| Luckily, Arvind was on it - cooking an authentic Indian meal for everyone to devour |
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| Now Ian's happy, and the team can finally get down to work! |
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| Can you spot how many coffee and tea cups there are on this table?? |
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| John finally arrives, but makes up for it with style, wearing the famous TransitHub T-shirt! |
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| Not to be outdone, Arvind suddenly appears in his T-shirt - with a Metropass to boot! |
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| Here's Arvind, grinding through a few focused hours of hard work... |
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| Meanwhile, Neil and Johnny have some laughs as they watch a tennis match. "Don't worry, Arvind's got it!" |
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| Another important question gets asked: did anyone remember to get the beer? |
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| "Ummm... I didn't bring any beer," says John |
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| "I could use a bottle right now," says Johnny, "yes, I could definitely use a bottle!" |
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| Heartbreak: there is only one bottle on the premises... and it goes to Johnny. |
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| John settles for his eighth cup of Indian Chai Tea - is there anything more addicting? |
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| Neil is beginning to zone out - which signals the end of a very long day... |
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| And so, another edition of Sprint Saturday comes to a close. Until next time! |
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