StartUp Cup: A Community Driven Business Model Competition

Small Business Trends Radio | Small Business Advice

Sean Griffin has spent the last five years creating a business model competition which can be replicated in any community. The fundamentals of this program were developed in Silicon Valley during the dot-com era – but while all the world is focused on tech, StartUp Cup focuses on the other 98% of business startups. And while bootcamps and weekend challenges are all the rage, StartUp Cup understands that businesses need more support over the long haul.

So, is StartUp Cup the answer to our current economic woes? Sean thinks it just might be.

Sean Griffin, CEO of BizXe, joins Anita Campbell for an in-depth look at Startup Cup – a grass roots, community driven business model competition.

Below are the questions we asked Sean:

• (1:55) From Silicon Valley to Tulsa, Oklahoma, you’re a high school dropout, you have worked with some very impressive organizations and you have a very interesting success story. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
• (4:20) Why did you decide to do something like StartUp Cup?
• (6:03) So getting to market fast is not something just for the tech industry, it’s something important for all kinds of startups, correct?
• (6:48) Can you explain what StartUp Cup is?
• (9:47) So the winners not only get a cup, do they get ongoing coaching and mentoring in addition to the cash?
• (10:51) You’ve created a guide that organizers can follow. What would they get in exchange once they contact you?
• (12:35) Is there a fee for a community to get involved and gain access to all of this and gain access to the StartUp Cup name?
• (13:20) Is this something that you feel is limited to your local geography? Or are there other ways to define what type you’d like to do? Like an online community StartUp Cup or can a vendor do a StartUp Cup for the customers it has?
• (15:18) There are some other startup events and competitions out there. How does StartUp Cup differ from something like Startup Weekend or a business plan competition?
• (18:09) What types of entrepreneurs and businesses would be involved in something like StartUp Cup? How would you describe them?
• (20:10) You mentioned you had seen a business based on bacon drippings? Is that right? Is that real?
• (22:48) What other communities, besides Tulsa, have StartUp Cups?
• (23:55) What is the incentive for a community to want to do this? What benefits do communities get from doing something like StartUp Cup?
• (25:55) What does it cost a community to do something like StartUp Cup?
• (27:01) Do you have any idea of the cost to create jobs for these communities?
• (28:37) Where can people find out more?

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Listen to Sean’s interview now by clicking the red and yellow player below

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