6. 99designs
Mark Harbottle was already running a decent business, SitePoint, when he realised that its forum was full of designers playing “Photoshop tennis” with logos.
Realising that there was a spin-off opportunity, Harbottle swiftly rolled out 99designs, which allows businesses to post design briefs for the site’s community of designers to tackle.
Already having a business gave Harbottle a decent launchpad for 99designs but the new venture had to grapple with everything from pricing structure to industry grumbling, as he told us earlier this year.
Startup Weekend’s expansion to Denmark looks to have unearthed a gem in EyeTravel, a GPS-powered app that helps the blind and partially blind use public transport.
The hastily thrown-together team devised a system that informs blind people of approaching buses and trains, allowing them to choose favoured routes and times.
Kyle Kesterson was persuaded by a friend to sign up for Startup Weekend in Seattle last year, a move that, with hindsight, appears extremely wise.
A toy designer by trade, Kesterton found a like-minded soul in Kevin Lenaway and created Giant Thinkwell, a start-up that designs celebrity-themed games.
The business was subsequently picked up by the TechStars program and has released half a dozen well-received games.
Sometimes, a seemingly rapid launch disguises months of private pondering. Alexa Andrzejewski was mulling over an idea that would let people photograph and rate their favourite foods.
While attending a Women 2.0 event, Andrzejewski received the feedback and advice that was to spur her on to launch Foodspotting. An investor even offered her seed funding on the spot.
Jerry Maguire, the sprightly sports agent played by Tom Cruise in the eponymous 1996 movie, didn’t even wait to get out of the door of his employer’s office before starting his own business.
Maguire showed all of the qualities needed to rapidly launch a business – tenacity, self-belief despite being fired and the ability to persuade people to follow him. And a goldfish in a bag, of course.
