Bloomington Startup Feb. 8-10, 2008 [a startup weekend event]

We’ll begin profiling our event sponsors later tonight, beginning with Mallor Clendening Grodner & Bohrer LLP, a local Bloomington law firm specializing in estate planning and contract disputes. In the meantime, I wanted to post a note of thanks to Travis Brown for being the point man for the money flow.

Travis isn’t alone. Our organizing committee has grown to include about a dozen people:

• John Hill, Technology Directory
• Christian Briggs, Evangelist
• Katrina Panovich and Katie O’Donnell, Food Czars
• David Roedl, Sustainability Czar
• Jason de Runa, Hospitality Guy
• Nina Perry, Childcare Coordinator
• Lorraine Ball, PR
• Kevin Makice, Marketing and Materials Directory [added by John]

That doesn’t include the many more supporters in the region who have spread the word, paved the way, pulled the trigger, got the buy-in, and wrote the story about Bloomington Startup Weekend. We’re in for a great few days, thanks to all of the work everyone has put into this project.

More info about our sponsorship campaign is available at the main Startup Weekend site.

Two Fridays from now, the final preparations will be made and a few dozen motivated people will gather at City Hall to build something new. Up until that moment, the organizing committee will be busy recruiting participants and sponsors, making sure the logistics and materials are in place, and trying to do this while living other parts of their lives.

In the coming days, some local press should start to appear about Bloomington Startup Weekend. This should spur a registration drive to reach our participation and sponsorship goals. We still have some other needs, though, that will continue for the next two weeks. We are currently looking for people interested in helping:

• Music Director—talk to local musicians and get us a daily little dose of live break music.
• Childcare Director—coordinate the needs of participating parents with some local childcare providers to allow people with kids to contribute all weekend.
• Materials Director—make sure there are white boards, markers and other staples of a marathon development session.
• Meta Manager—we will be transparent with our process, which means making sure there are regular updates to local blogs, video and tweet streams, as well as generating the excitement for people to pay attention.
• Street Marketing Manager—chalk + sidewalks = free advertising. We also help locals be more aware of our event through bulletin board fliers.

My own computer issues are ending in the form of a replacement MacBook from Apple. Expect regular blog posts from here on out.

There have been a few people showing a strong interest in attending but encountering a multi-body problem: they have kids. We are attempting to respond by arranging for childcare during the event.

Bloomington Startup is actively recruiting sponsorship to pay for a few sitters to watch kids in a room at City Hall. Wonderlab, our local science museum, has reportedly offered some group discounts for the event, giving the kids somewhere to climb, play and explore beyond whatever office space we can childproof.

If you are interested in attending but have hesitated because of this important obstacle, please comment here or email Kevin Makice (kevin -at- makice -dot- net).