OCT 2017: 300 Chapters + #SG200 + Grow with Google
1. 300 Chapters
We are proud to announce that we have hit a major milestone in Startup Grind: 300 active chapters! Our amazing community grows every day and we are stoked with the new directors that join us on a weekly basis. The values of Startup Grind attract the most brilliant minds, the most active startup enthusiasts, the Directors who are building ecosystems in their local communities. You! We come along way from 1-50 chapters, then to 100, to 200 and finally to 300. Where this will end? We don’t know! What we do know is that our mission to educate every entrepreneur in this world is driving every single step we take. By giving first, we make friends and help each other. That’s what Startup Grind is all about.
If you happen to know strong candidates who could be a great fit for the Chapter Director role, please encourage them to apply here: http://www.startupgrind.com/start and one of our Community Managers will be happy to discuss the opportunity further with them. Thank you!
2. #SG200
The direct result of our community’s growth is the number of events we conduct globally. Last year, we set ourselves a goal that seemed quite crazy: organize 150 events in November 2016 (aka #SG150). Our Directors responded loud and clear: Challenge Accepted! And yes, we delivered, sending a strong message to the world that we are a hyper active community.
This year, we up the ante and set ourselves a mission impossible: organize 200 events in November 2017! It’s our chance to shine and make #SG200 a landmark that will prove what we can achieve when we come together as a community of entrepreneurs.
Join us!
All you have to do is organize an event - or two ;) - in November. Even if you are not sure you can pull a huge crowd, even if you having second thoughts about the dates, even if it’s Halloween or Thanksgiving in the US, you can definitely do it! Don’t have a speaker? Not a problem! We’ll organize a live webstream with a mystery speaker from Silicon Valley on Nov 30th. Just book a venue with a projector and push the event to your local community. No need to charge a ticket either - it’s free for everyone to attend!
Plus, HQ prepared the most visually stunning designs to get people excited about #SG200 and help you create buzz in your local media. It’s going to be a massive PR exercise, so jump on the train and participate in the biggest Startup Grind challenge ever!
3. Grow with Google
As you heard from our team last month, one of Google's focus areas is a commitment to creating opportunity for everyone, via digital skills training and other initiatives intended to help close the education gap, prepare people for the changing nature of work and ensure that nobody is excluded.
Grow with Google is a new initiative to help Americans with the skills they need to get a job or grow their business. Simultaneously, Google is also committing $1 billion in Google.org grants over five years to nonprofits around the world, and 1 million hours that Googlers can volunteer to nonprofits. On the Grow with Google homepage, you'll see the Startup with Google site that we launched last month too, featuring Google for Entrepreneurs partners and projects.
You can read more here. Please share this news with your communities, and lookout for coverage on GFE social channels too!
4. 2018 Conference Startup Program: Nominate your top startups
We have two opportunities available for startups that you refer.
- General referral: ask all startups you refer to mention on the application that you referred them and they will get priority review. Your recommendation is a great sign in our eyes!
- Top 2 referral: You may select up to 2 startups from your city to ALSO get early bird pricing through December 15th (it already ended for others). That's a $400 savings! To nominate those two startups simply complete this form: https://goo.gl/forms/F0a0lskpisMXNL2A2 AND have them mention you as a referrer in their application. If they are accepted and they pay by 12/15 they will get the savings.
When talking to your local startups about the event let them know that the opportunity to exhibit at the global event is at the core of what they get. Get the full details on the startup program here: https://www.startupgrind.com/startup/ . That is also where they apply. The list of accepted startups (and who made it into the top 50) will be published in mid January and we'll make sure you see it!
5. Office Hours
Did you miss the October Americas & EMEA Office Hours? No problem - you can watch them online anytime. In this episode we discussed how to host an awesome community party, as well as a few other topics - see below:
And in this video you can catch all the action from the EMEA Office Hours #4, with Derek also joining to announce 300 chapters and #SG200. We also discussed sponsorships at a country level and EU funding among other things. Watch it here:
JOIN US NEXT MONTH:
- Directors in Europe, Middle East and Africa can join the EMEA Office Hours on Nov 28th at 5pm GMT with Dimitris.
- Directors in the Americas can join the Americas Office Hours on Monday November 13th at 4pm Pacific Time with Christie.
Note: You can always access the latest invites and recent Office Hours videos in the help library: http://help.startupgrind.com/category/211-office-hours
6. Social Media Posts
Every month, Eugenia is preparing some of the coolest social media posts out there! Feel free to use and to post them using the hashtag #StartupGrind to amplify your message! They are based on smart quotes from Rock Star Entrepreneurs like Patrick Collison (Stripe).
7. Featured Cities
In September we had some pretty amazing events happening, here we feature some chapters that really did a great job! Keep posting #fullhouse pictures to get featured in the next newsletter!
Najaf, Iraq
1st event, fullhouse
Delhi, India
Changsha, China
1st event, fullhouse (130+ people)
Wuhan, China
1st event, fullhouse Hosted at V+&Founders Space
Naples, Italy
Mike Grabham, one of our most experienced directors (awarded with the prestigious “Director of the Year” award) travelled all the way from Seattle, US to Napoli, Europe and was interviewed by our Italian Director, Andrea Varriale. Here’s the full video.
San Francisco, USA
Full house with 2 EMEA directors visiting, Or Haviv from Eilat, Isreal and Jonas Almeling from Stockholm, Sweden
Thanks for all the hard work, and please keep interacting on Slack!
Startup Grind Community Team