Have you ever wondered what a group of highly talented and motivated people could accomplish in a weekend? Startup Weekend is a unique three-day experience that brings together the best and brightest people in a local office space to take a company from concept to completion in just 54 hours.

Shannon Paul, public relations and social media blogger, has started Startup Weekend Detroit, which is happening November 14-16. Check out Shauna Nicholson’s interview with Shannon to find out why she started the event and why this is a great event for professional writers.

Why did you decide to organize Startup Weekend in Detroit?
I don’t know that it was actually a conscious decision. I was able to attend part of Startup Weekend Ann Arbor, and had several friends who attended that event. When I came home, I started looking deeper into the Startup Weekend organization and reading up on the process to bring Startup Weekend to a particular city. I realized there was a voting process and saw that Detroit was already nominated, but only had 20 votes. To give you an idea of where we stood, we were behind Corvallis, Oregon.

I just thought that Detroit could really use this more than most places. There is so much bad news coming out of this city — especially when it comes to job losses and the overall economy. I thought an event like this would help bring out some of the area’s talent and help jumpstart small business development in the city and the region. It was also my hope to generate a few positive news stories as a result of the event.

Why is it important for the event to happen NOW?
Detroit, and the surrounding region, is facing some of the most challenging times in its history. The future of the economy in this region is going to depend on the ingenuity of individuals who can start small. Most of the new jobs being created in this economy are from small businesses. I believe that there are as many talented, skilled and passionate people in this city as any other, but we haven’t been so great at forming a really solid community around networking and innovation. Community is an essential ingredient to fostering the kind of supportive environment for new businesses to be able to thrive.

Who attends events like this?
Just about anybody with an idea or a skill or both is welcome to participate in this event. Usually Startup Weekend attracts people with deep technical/programming skills as well as design professionals, marketing and public relations professionals, project managers and venture capitalists. Most companies that have formed as a result of a Startup Weekend have been web-based, but there are many notable exceptions to this rule. (more…)