FAQ

3DS Alaska FAQ

• What is 3DS Alaska?
  3DS Alaska is a locally organized 3DS event.  It is organized by local volunteers led by Jeremiah Dunham.
• When?
  3DS Alaska is held annually in the spring semester. The first 3DS Alaska event was held on March 25-27th, 2011.
• Where?
  3DS Alaska is traditionally held on-campus at UAA.
• How do I participate in the next event?
  Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or send us an email at info [at] 3dsalaska [dot] org to let us know that you’re interested. Further details and information on how to apply for the next 3DS Alaska event will be revealed.

3DS participation FAQ

• If I participate, what do I get out of the weekend?
  You’ll work with brilliant people from other disciplines, and together you will build something real.  You will also get a small equity stake in the new companies that are formed.   The entire group of participants collectively takes a very small percentage of equity in each newly formed company.
• How do the legalities work? Do I need to sign any documents?
  Every participant signs a Technology Assignment Agreement at the start of the weekend. Our legal and equity structure is designed from the ground up to make our 3DS companies as successful as possible, to preserve equity for the founders, to reward participants, and to give a few participants the experience of serving on the board of advisers for a company.
• Why should I trust your legal and equity structure?
  Many of our companies have been incubated and have taken investment after the weekend.  These investments by third party investors are strong validation for the soundness of our legal structure.  Additionally, we have had very positive feedback from participants, inventors and founders.
• I have a great idea or invention.  I’m worried about it being stolen.
  This is probably the most common concern for 3DS participants. We have three responses to this. First, our legal stucture is designed so that invited participants can freely share their ideas among each other in a protected environment without having to worry about it being stolen. Second, we are a global nonprofit that strives to create value for many stakeholders: students, investors, universities, the local economy, etc. If we screwed over any one of these, thanks to the web it would be widely known within seconds. Finally, we believe that ideas alone are worthless and execution is everything, which is why we focus most of our attention on the latter. But don’t just take it from us: there is broad consensus on that topic in the community. See here, here, here, and here for just a few examples. In short, we are in the business of making ideas happen, not stealing other people’s intellectual property. Need ideas? We’ll be happy to provide you with hundreds of them for free.
• How much equity does 3DS take?
  The 3DS organizers and central organization do not take an equity position in the companies that are started at 3DS events.  Put another way, we do not monetize through the companies that are started at 3DS events.
• How does 3DS make money?
  We are a not for profit entity, and primarily are funded through sponsorships.
• I’m a student majoring in X. Should I even consider to apply?
  The short answer is: yes. Our past participants have spanned everything from a freshman in psychology to a freshly minted PhD in Neuroscience. If you’re at all passionate about startups and technology, do apply!
• Can I apply even though I am not a student?
  Absolutely. While the majority will be students, we are definitely open to having some (very strong) non student participants.
• What kind of ideas are allowed?
  Anything flies as long as it has a strong software base. For instance, companies like Amazon, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, and Ebay are all examples of companies that could have originated as a 3 Day Startup.
• How are the final ideas picked?
  The 40 people form 8 groups of 5 people each. The small groups brainstorm and pick their favorite ideas. Then each group pitches their top idea to the seven other groups. At the end, all participants vote on the top one, two, or three ideas.
• How many people from each discipline do you invite into the event?
  About 20 from computer science, 7 from business, 3 law students, 3 graphic designers, and 7 wild cards.
• Doesn’t 40 people feel like overkill?
  If they were all working on forming one company, then yes, it would be. But the goal is to create multiple companies, with a much more manageable crowd for each project.
• How much can you really accomplish in 3 days?
  A whole lot. You can form the company, create a prototype, research and validate the market, engage potential customers, write an initial business plan and pitch the idea to investors, to name a few action items.
• What about food? Sleep?
  3DS caters all meals, drinks, and in-between snacks. Sleep is optional. Participants can bring a sleeping bag, or go home to rest.
• What happens at the end of the weekend?
  At 7 p.m. on Sunday, the participants pitch their startups to a panel of local venture capitalists, angel investors, tech entrepreneurs, professors, and the press. After that, they elect a board of directors which will take the companies forward.
• What does the weekend schedule look like?
  While the participants set the entire agenda for the weekend, a typical weekend might look like this:

Friday

• 2pm: meet & greet, split up into brainstorming groups
• 7pm: dinner & pitch ideas
• Decide on best idea(s), start work!

Saturday

• Coding, market validation, business plans, logos, etc.

Sunday

• 6pm: dinner & meet panelists
• 7pm: pitch startup(s) to panel
• Launch prototype, elect board

3 Day Startup, Inc. FAQ

• What is 3 Day Startup, Inc?
  3 Day Startup, Inc., is a non-profit corporation that helps teams at universities to organize pre-seed startup acceleration events to help students turn their ideas into real companies. We are based in Austin, Texas but we work with students and universities around the world to help create self-sustaining 3DS programs on college campuses. We supply infrastructure, tools and consulting to help local teams run 3DS events. An analogy is TED versus TEDx events. 3DS Alaska is one of the local events.
• Where can I learn more about 3 Day Startup, Inc., and about hosting a 3DS event in my city?
  Please visit www.3DayStartup.com.  For information on hosting, please email info [at] 3DayStartup [dot] com