Facilitator Responsibilities

Let’s take a look at how a Startup Weekend facilitator is defined and the tasks that a facilitator has to complete before, and during the weekend.

A facilitator is a member of the Techstars Startup Weekend community who has experience in public speaking and crowd management. They are considered resident Startup Weekend experts and caretakers of the participant experience. They are prepared to support the Startup Weekend organizing team and to make sure that everything goes smoothly during an event.

The facilitator is at the event to support the local organizing team, making sure that all attendees have a rich, positive experience. Responsibilities during the event include:

• Emceeing the event and managing key event processes like pitches, voting, icebreaker games, and team formation

• Educating participants on the methodology, key principles, importance of entrepreneurship, and the overall impact of Techstars Startup Weekend

• Skilfully managing the tone, flow, feel, and logistics of the weekend

• Helping the organizing team stay on schedule 

• Ensuring that organizing teams meet the Techstars standard of excellence across the world

• Representing global and local sponsors

• Helping the organizing team coordinate the involvement of mentors, sponsors, judges and speakers during the event.

Once introduced to the organizing team, the facilitator will meet with them on a few occasions prior to the event to help brainstorm, provide guidance, and act as a general advisor throughout the team’s planning process.

Techstars views Startup Weekend facilitators as an extension of our team and it’s a key event requirement for organizing teams to have a Techstars-certified facilitator lead their event. Facilitators are our support on the ground at all of our events globally. We rely on them to be stewards of the Startup Weekend mission and to make sure that a consistent level of quality is delivered to every community around the world.

To ensure that a quality experience is had by all, we are committed to bringing in the right facilitators who are prepared to help expand the impact of Startup Weekend across the world. Therefore, we expect each facilitator to embody the Techstars Startup Weekend core values.