OPENING LETTERSMessages from our founders celebrating past milestonesand welcoming a new year.2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT IS STARTUP WEEKENDTogether, we have built the largest community of doers in the world. See how we’re building the future of entrepreneurship.4COMMUNITYListen to what the global community of entrepreneurs has to say about Startup Weekend and its global impact.8

We’re everywhere - born in the digital social age and growing fast.

REACH12IMPACTThe real world positive impact our community creates in entrepreneurial ecosystems around the globe.16PARTNERSOur impact is not possible without our amazing partners.20FORWARDLooking ahead: Where will we go next?24

STARTUPWEEKEND

IMPACTREPORT2012

LETTERS FROM THE FOUNDERS

Franck at the Seattle Startup Weekend Women 2.0 Event

MARC NAGER

Three years have passed since we developed Startup Weekend with one simple idea: Get more people to experience entrepreneurship -- but it is really day one of the Entrepreneurial Revolution. In celebrating 100,000 Startup Weekend attendees, we have witnessed a significant shift in the way people perceive their entrepreneurial potential.

In 2012, our community doubled. Startup Weekend is now, de facto, the largest entrepreneurial organization in the world. We are growing beyond Startup Weekend - the acquisition of Startup Digest allows our community to connect easily to its local ecosystem. The development of NEXT will help founders learn from the best curriculum in the world.

This movement is still at its beginning. As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says, “It’s all about the long term,” we believe that a fundamental measure of our long term success will be the improvement of the “Entrepreneurial Journey” through action-based education. If we can just be a little better every step of the way, this movement will not only revolutionize our economies, but our personal lives as well. We know Startup Weekend has a very substantial impact on our community. We’ve seen people finding

jobs, creating sustainable startups, becoming facilitators, meeting their future founders -- and of course, some raising millions of dollars and creating new jobs. We’ve also seen people failing and trying again and again. The 90% of you who will fail should not be afraid. As we grow, we also want to help as many people try and try again, while minimizing their absolute risk. This can be done by connecting communities and by localizing our efforts to become, in a way, an advantage provider for entrepreneurs. Welcome to the entrepreneurial revolution!

Franck speaking on the power of entrepreneurship at Startup Weekend Organizer’s Summit 2012

WELCOME TO THEENTREPRENEURIALREVOLUTION

Marc at SoSummit 2012

We are witnessing the birth of a true industry around entrepreneurship. No longer are the grassroots leaders of this movement pontificating about the importance of entrepreneurship through megaphones on proverbial street corners.

2012 was truly the year we saw the entrepreneurial movement take hold in political agendas, FT 500 boardrooms, and institutional programs at a rate far above anything ever seen before. While there have always been early adopters in these sectors, we’ve seen an appetite for not only discussing the importance of creating and fostering entrepreneurs explode, but also a hunger for the programs that help drive action.

For the first time in history, you can travel almost anywhere in the world and say the word “entrepreneur” or “startup” and find some type of associated activity. I’m more than humbled that one of the top activities you’d find in a community happens to be a Startup Weekend event. This is important not just for Startup Weekend as an organization, but more importantly, for the cultural transformation that it represents which has taken a firm hold in communities around the world. It proves one thing - this is not just a

trend. Try searching “startup bubble” and scrolling through the countless articles rendered by this search topic in 2011 alone. I think it’s safe to say that this movement has surpassed any trend.

Why? Entrepreneurship - the notion that anyone anywhere can pursue something they are passionate about - is something so innately human that its manifestation worldwide is nothing short of natural, rewarding, and sustainable. We are living a present moment unprecedented in human history; access for individuals to realize their ability to create real solutions to real problems has never had such a high level of support and infrastructure. We’ve witnessed the reality that entrepreneurial values transcend borders and unite individuals from any background in the name of empowerment and innovation. Indeed, we have become the entrepreneurial generation.

Marc discussing the vision for Startup Weekend at Startup Weekend Organizer’s Summit 2012

THE BIRTH OF A TRUE IDENTITY AROUND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

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STARTUP WEEKENDStartup Weekend TM supports the development and expansion of entrepreneurship through events worldwide that educate aspiring entrepreneurs by immersing them in the process of moving an idea to market. Startup Weekend has built a network of more than 100K alumni, thousands of volunteer

organizers, and 100+ trained facilitators spread across more than 300+ cities in 100 countries. Kauffman Foundation, Google, Microsoft, .Co, Sendgrid and more are sponsors. For more information visit:www.startupweekend.org.

STARTUP WEEKEND

2012 proved to be a year of growth, learning, and a renewed sense ofpurpose for Startup Weekend. We reached a monumental goal - the creation of 100,000 entrepreneurs - and we were honored to commemorate this achievement by ringing the New York Stock Exchange bell on December 28th, 2012. We celebrate this pivotal moment as a symbol of progress and a validation

of our efforts. Reaching this goal encouraged all of us to consider the steps we’ve made in the name of entrepreneurship and the global community that we’ve built - all made possible by an unparalleled network of volunteers. As an organization, we also recognize our unique responsibility to continue to support these entrepreneurs in every way we can. It is with this

mentality that we move forward in 2013 and beyond, challenging ourselves every step of the way by asking ourselves, what more can we do?

AT ITS CORE, STARTUP WEEKEND IS A DEMOCRATIZER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

TOGETHER WE’VE BUILT THE LARGESTCOMMUNITY OF DOERS IN THE WORLD

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At Startup Weekend, we believe that entrepreneurship is the single largest driving force for creating jobs for ourselves, opportunities for our neighbors, and ultimately, more responsible and thriving societies. At its core, Startup Weekend is a democratizer of entrepreneurship. Startup Weekend events are

organized according to a mission rooted in empowerment and education. Over the course of 54 hours, participants pitch ideas, form teams, and ultimately, launch companies. Startup Weekends create a low-pressure, fast-paced environment that connects entrepreneurs with mentors, resources, and most importantly, one another.

Ringing the New York Stock Exchange bell on December 28th, 2012

POISED FOR IMPACTStepping back to assess our growth and development has both reinforced and expanded our vision for the future. Our unique, rapidly growing global community is our greatest asset and the reason that we are uniquely positioned to make a lasting, revolutionary impact on our world. We’re boldly moving forward with the gratitude and understanding

that we’re better equipped than any other organization to drive the entrepreneurial movement and evoke lasting change on a global scale. The critical time is now, and it is with the aid of our dynamic community and an unprecedented, experiential access to a thorough understanding of the startup world that we are building the future of entrepreneurship.

A team working hard at Startup Weekend Athens

Startup Weekend Women’s event in Seattle, WA Working hard and playing hard at Startup Weekend Nabius

OUR UNIQUE, RAPIDLY GROWING GLOBAL COMMUNITY IS OUR GREATEST ASSET

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“18 months ago, I wanted to find a good nursery for my daughter. It was difficult for me to go and visit every nursery in my neighborhood to find a suitable nursery for my child.” Nagla Metwally took this problem to a Cairo event in 2011 and built Hadanty.net; “I decided

to create a website to help mothers like me find the nurseries that they want. I created the website and collected all information about nurseries including all nursery features, photos, video, hosting prices, and anything that any mother needs.”

NAGLA’S STORY

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Having participated as a judge at the first event in downtown Las Vegas, I’ve been fortunate to be part of the magic that a Startup Weekend can create. The events can be an amazing starting point for anyone who wants to build on an idea in a safe but action-centered environment where anyone and everyone can get feedback on their first steps. I’ve watched the local downtown Vegas startup scene accelerate its growth as a result of Startup Weekend and the vital role it can play in bringing ideas and people together.

Startup Weekend is a global phenomenon that has attracted and encouraged a new generation of entrepreneurs. Startup Weekend has changed the world.

These apps that people are creating are not only helping people in all kinds of ways -- they are generating 40,000 jobs in London alone. Congratulations to the Telegraph and the brilliant Startup Weekend. Every one of those ideas seems like a winner.

It’s amazing to see what Startup Weekend provides for individuals and communities on an event level, but the global community that has been created as a result of recurring events around the world has resulted in an organization with endless potential to be the starting point not just for any entrepreneur to build off of an idea, but also to find a support system in any community from which they can grow and continue to learn as an entrepreneur.

WHAT THE ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY THINKS

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BORIS JOHNSONThe Mayor of London

DAVID COHENFounder and CEO of TechStars

Like Prometheus bringing fire, Startup Weekend provides entrepreneurs worldwide with hands-on training on how to build and run startups,. These classes range from a weekend of learning how to work with a team on an idea to a 5-week intensive program on how to actually build a startup. Startup Weekend is bringing fire to entrepreneurial communities worldwide.

STEVE BLANKAuthor and Entrepreneur

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COMMUNITYGROWTH

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TONY HSIEHZappos.com CEO and VegasTechFund Partner

BRAD FELDManaging Director at theFoundry Group and Author

ATTENDEES

58K100K

COUNTRIES

67111

CITIES

382194

TEAMS

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16891

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ATTENDEES

There’s nothing quite like the energy, the enthusiasm, and the excitement that happens at a Startup Weekend to inspire and mobilize people around the world to take action on their big ideas.

LORI ANNE WARDIVice President of .Co Internet

*TOTALS THROUGH EACH YEAR

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During Global Entrepreneurship Week, 500 teams formed at 67 events in 34 countries around the globe in what was by far the largest startup competition to ever take place. From Bangkok, Mindanaeo, and Istanbul, to St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Los

Angeles -- first place teams competed until Groupnotes from Toronto, Canada, won first place overall.

GLOBAL STARTUP BATTLE

WORLDWIDE

ONLINE REACHTHE REVOLUTION GOES SOCIAL

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GLOBAL STARTUP BATTLEA SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN

EYEBALLSON STARTUP WEEKEND EVENTS IN 2012

250M

PINTEREST FLICKRYOUTUBELINKEDIN KLOUT GOODREADSFACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+

20122011AVG NPO

57SMENTIONEDEVERY MINUTE

800TIMES MENTIONEDDAILY IN SOCIAL MEDIA

3-5MTWITTER IMPRESSIONSVIEWED EVERY WEEKEND

IMPRESSIONSFROM 137 GSB EVENTS IN 2012

155M

335K 55KLIKESON FACEBOOK

120K 111VIDEO ENTRIESON FACEBOOK

TOP HASGHTAG CITIESPARTICIPATING IN GSB

*METRICS POWERED BY

#swtampa - Tampa, FL#swCordoba - Cordoba, AR#swbzh - Bretagne, FR#swaccra - Accra, GH#swverona - Verona, IT#swstras - Strasbourg, FR#swtehran - Tehran, IR#swmanc - Manchester, ENG#swburgos - Burgos, ES

#bishkek - KG#atlsw - Atlanta, Georgia (US)#swliege - Liege, BE#swbog - Bogota, CO#swarmenia - Yerevan, AM#swkarachi - Karachi, PK #swtoronto, Toronto, CA#swsarajevo - Sarajevo, BA#swpoz - Poznan, PL

#swabidjan - Abidjan, CIV#swalgiers - Algiers, DZ#swmontreal - Montreal, CA#swvancouver - Vancouver, CA#swtenerife - Tenerife, CI#swriyadh - Riyadh, SA#swogden - Ogden, Utah, (US)#swoc - Orange County, (US)

SHARESACROSS FACEBOOK

VOTESON FACEBOOK

15KTWEETS PER EVENTIN HASHTAG BATTLES

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At Startup Weekend Croatia, Slavica envisioned a simple business model that relies on local businesses and schools to donate plastic bags that are later used to create the eco friendly Torbak bags. “My team believes in project Torbak, through which we plan to

employ women and young people and keep our environment a better place to live.” Torbak went on to win first place at the event and Slavica’s startup now employs eight women in her local community.

IMPACTSLAVICA’S STORY

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OUR COMMUNITYOF ORGANIZERS AND FACILITATORS

ATTENDEESATTENDING STARTUP WEEKEND EVENTS IN 2012

100K37KNON-TECH

33KDEVELOPER</>

17KSTUDENT

10KDESIGNER

35%ONE JOB OPPORTUNITYAFTER PARTICIPATING

65%SW SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTED MY LIFE

29%TEAMS INCORPOARATEDAFTER THE EVENT

62%DESIRE TO INFLUENCEENTREPRENEURIAL POLICY

95%WOULD ATTEND ANOTHER EVENT AGAIN

MONEY RAISEDBY TEAMS IN 2011 & 2012

$75M

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3KORGANIZERS/FACILITATORSINSPIRING EVENTS WORLDWIDE

300KHOURS VOLUNTEEREDTO IMPROVE COMMUNITIES

111COUNTRIES IMPACTEDBY THESE INDIVIDUALS

4KJUDGES & MENTORSPASSIONATE ABOUT SW

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Our community of organizers and facilitators at SoSummit 2012

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Over the course of Gaza’s Startup Weekend, Alaa was able to work with people in her desired field of IT, hone her skills, and work in a collaborative space. “Working with a team you don’t know is very good, since you’re learning new things from your partners...

actually, it’s amazing,” Alaa says. One only needs to hear Alaa briefly talk about her experience to understand the power of a Startup Weekend.

ALAA’S STORY

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With the help of our partners, we are able to serve the entrepreneurial community on a scale and level that simply wouldn’t be possible on our own. We sincerely thank each of our partners and look forward to empowering individuals locally and globally together.

MARY GROVEDirector of Google For Entrepreneurs

Startup Weekend has created a brilliant model that combines the ability to inspire and ignite the entrepreneurial spirit with the opportunity to roll up one’s sleeves to execute and launch. They’re having real impact in cities across the globe, teaching aspiring entrepreneurs to be risk takers and innovators. Startup Weekend enables individuals to step up and be local leaders in their communities while being part of the broader global Startup Weekend community. It’s fantastic, and we’re excited about this passion that’s spreading all over the world.

WE HAVE SEEN THEM GROW TO BECOME A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON AND A CATALYST FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AROUND THE GLOBE

Microsoft is a long-time partner of Startup Weekend, right from the outset. In that short time, we have seen them grow to become a worldwide phenomenon and a catalyst for entrepreneurship in every corner of the globe; inspiring and empowering people from all backgrounds to come together, to share their ideas, and build something great – all in just 54 hours. Hundreds of Startup Weekends later, we continue to see this incredible spirit, passion, energy and hands-on education make a mark, from Riyadh to Rio. Without doubt, Startup Weekend is the story of our generation and their impact is unique.

CLAIRE LEEStrategic PartnershipsMicrosoft Startups

THEY’RE HAVING REAL IMPACT IN CITIES ACROSS THE GLOBE, TEACH ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS TO BE RISK TAKERS AND INNOVATORS

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Former St. Louis police officer Kevin worked closely with Michael Abernathy, also a St. Louis cop on a fraudulent check detection system (F.I.S.T.S.) at Startup Weekend New Haven, CT. After 54 hours, the pair was able to Abernathy’s background and skills

into functioning fraud detection equipment. “We’ve done more in this weekend than I’ve tried to do in four years in St. Louis,” said Ewing. “I think’s it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

KEVIN’S STORY

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What we’re seeing is the need for the leaders of this movement to unite. Within communities, states, countries, regions, and the world - we need passionate leaders. Imagine the power of being able to unite and elevate the visions of these leaders.

Just like the days before the internet, we have networks and nodes that have developed and largely exist in isolation

despite the incredible amount of similarities that exist among them. The revolution is happening now and begins with the ability to connect the various nodes and isolated networks.

The next year will demand more consolidation of related activities, more unification within communities and their leaders - it will demand a new level of interconnectivity. By improving the

quality of our programs and their ability to attract new, relevant audiences over the longer term, we can connect even more communities across regions and the globe. As this unfolds, we will also see leaders create more value and more impact.

Startup Weekend Tenerife

It is critical to understand what is driving this movement. It isn’t governments or corporations - it is the people, the entrepreneurs themselves. The people truly leading the creation of this movement are the volunteers, organizers, and community leaders. Startup Weekend has naturally evolved into more than an event; it is a catalyst, a rallying point around entrepreneurs and their stakeholders. More than anything, Startup Weekend has helped to create a global community of leaders at the forefront of the entrepreneurial revolution.

Startup Weekend Taipei

Startup Weekend has built upon its humble beginnings; what started as a simple event has evolved rapidly into a powerful global movement of countless volunteers and over 100,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries. As we grow, we remember our firm belief in “No Talk, All Action.” Many successful startups have emerged through our action-based educational programs, and for the first time we can directly correlate the creation of new firms to a specific, common origin: Startup Weekend.

Without Startup Weekend, these companies would not exist and these founders would not have crossed paths. Our indirect economic impact is visibly taking shape on a national level: thousands of meaningful jobs have been created at an amazingly low cost.  This is just one aspect of what we are doing. We have an initial, individual impact, but this quickly turns into a powerful ripple effect: Individuals create jobs, find jobs, change careers, learn new technologies, meet new people, etc. We are just beginning to see the lasting effects of a growing entrepreneurial education.

In the next five years, we will impact more than one million people through our programs. We will strive to serve the local community more effectively with a personal, regionalized presence. Building connectivity in communities will be as revolutionary as bringing computers to individuals. With more targeted programs like NEXT (extended action-based curriculum for entrepreneurs), our intrapreneurship program for large

companies, and Startup Research (the largest community of entrepreneurial researchers in the world), we can precisely measure our impact and use this collected knowledge to make better entrepreneurs.

We are a framework and the most efficient and effective model to create better and more entrepreneurs in the face of a global economic crisis. Our

model is low cost, highly scalable, and has high impact on a large spectrum. To accomplish our vision, we will not only need growth capital, but also support to actively and responsibly improve the global economy. If you believe in changing the world through entrepreneurship, please reach out to us. We are looking for regional and global support with the understanding that the future of our economy  relies on a communal effort.

Ten year old participant pitching at SW Krakow 2012

THANK YOU

GET INVOLVEDIMPACT@STARTUPWEEKEND.ORG

WWW.STARTUPWEEKEND.ORG