I’m very excited to announce that Bigcommerce is hosting the E-Commerce Circle at this year’s Global Startup Battle. GSB is an annual, worldwide startup competition for entrepreneurs looking to build new services and products while networking and learning along the way. This year’s event will be held on Nov. 15 and 22, with more than 20,000 people expected to participate.
How GSB works
It all starts with competing in one of two Startup Weekends. At the beginning of the weekend, participants pitch their ideas and teams form around the most popular concepts. The teams then have 54 hours to build a company around the idea. On Sunday evening, teams present to a panel of judges, and event winners are named. Teams then have 24 hours to submit a video entry pitching their company to the GSB Circles of their choice.
As host of the GSB E-Commerce Circle, we’ll be part of a judging panel for the videos and help pick the circle winner. And what will they win? A fabulous, month-long e-commerce immersion experience at our offices in Austin, Texas. That includes a collaborative office space, your very own online store, a personal e-commerce coach, tickets to SXSW Interactive and a chance to talk shop with our brilliant executives. We’ll cover all travel and event expenses so the winning team members can focus on turning their dreams of e-commerce world domination into a reality.
Why we’re hosting
First and foremost, because we love entrepreneurs and want to help them succeed. We’re on the cusp of a major boom in the e-commerce space, and there’s a huge opportunity for smart, creative people. And there are plenty of them out there looking to make it happen.
Mary Meeker claims that this generation has “the most empowered entrepreneurs ever” thanks to new technology and marketplaces. And it’s hard to dispute that — there are already 1 million Etsy shops online and around 500,000 custom e-commerce sites on platforms like Bigcommerce, and we’re only scratching the surface.
Bigcommerce is in the business of empowering big dreamers, and working with Global Startup Battle is another way of doing that. We hope to help find the next Jeff Bezos, Nick Woodman or Sara Blakely, then assist them in building the next great business.
Who we’re looking for
We want the finest startup battlers in the land to join the GSB E-Commerce Circle. If your team develops a product or service that’s a good fit for an e-commerce store or application, you belong with us.
We’ll be watching all the videos to make sure you have a killer business plan that clearly shows how you’ll use e-commerce. We’ll also be looking at the creativity and reach of your video, the viability, originality and scalability of your go-to-market model, the thoroughness of your pitch, and your overall team dynamic.
Get involved!
The first step to entering the E-Commerce Circle is to find a Startup Weekend near you that takes place during Global Startup Battle. Then fire up your creativity and think about an e-commerce business you’d like to build. Happy entrepreneuring, everybody!