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"It's the final stage of a 54-hour competition to create a startup from scratch. Nearly 300 lanyard-clad entrepreneurs squeeze together on rows of plastic chairs to watch fellow hopefuls pitch their way to the top. Under the intense scrutiny of spotlights and judges, they present three days of blood, sweat and tech in just five minutes. \nThis is Startup Weekend \u2014 specifically, Toronto. But the scenario is not unlike what happens at the more than 350 Startup Weekends worldwide. From Friday to Sunday, participants \u2014 developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts \u2014 gather to share ideas, form teams and build products. \nSince launching in Colorado five years ago, the event has swelled to include 75,000 alumni and thousands of volunteer organizers. It's boosted the profiles of budding entrepreneurs, as well as the reputations of up-and-coming tech cities (on one list of \"best cities for startups,\" Toronto sits at fourth place).\n\"We have an amazing community here,\" Chris Eben, Startup Weekend Toronto's lead organizer, told Mashable on Sunday.  \"Just as far as activity's concerned, the way the ecosystem has exploded in the last few years has been amazing.\"\nEben added that the event plays a part in establishing Toronto as a startup-friendly city.\n\"It helps carry more and more activity at the grassroots level, which is what's important about building Toronto's startup community. Not all the startups go on to be successful, but they bring more people into the [fray] that are willing to try it.\"\n\n\nWith days of preparation and training from mentors, the groups of mostly twenty-something men (and some women) compete for the top-three spots. First place gets support for their startup, including business incubation and legal support, as well as free passes to local tech conferences. The winning team also goes on to compete in the Global Startup Battle \u2014 the world's largest startup competition \u2014 further promoting their company and home city, abroad. \nOn Friday, participants voted for their favorites among dozens of individual one-minute pitches, eventually choosing the top 20 ideas. From there, teams built their product from the ground up \u2014 everything from user experience and backend API development to branding and customer surveys.\n\"The productivity over the weekend is mind-boggling,\" Eben said, adding that those who aren't selected to make the final five-minute pitches still benefit from the Startup Weekend experience. \n\"Part of the point of this, from my perspective, is to really connect people in the local community so that after this, whether they do anything successful from here or not, they've made new connections. They know \u2014 they've got face-to-face connections with VCs, and people and mentors that can help them in the community to kind of keep going on their entrepreneurial journey.\"\n\nSEE ALSO: Startup Weekend Founder Marc Nager Answers Your Questions [LIVE CHAT]\nJust down the street from the warehouse-style loft where Startup Weekend Toronto was held, participants await the competition results at a local downtown bar. As the pulsating club music fades away, Eben announces this year's winners. The crowd erupts into whistles and cheers as \"Groupnotes\" takes first place. \n\n\nCreator Matthew Gardner, who also won last month's Startup Weekend Peel in Ontario, Canada, described Groupnotes as a collaboration tool for groups who do research.\n\"As a group member browses the web, they can annotate it with notes and drawings, which the other group members can see as they also browse...so they don't waste their time,\" he told Mashable. Gardner developed his original idea by working with a team of six other participants.\nThe self-described \"serial entrepreneur\" said the contacts he made at Peel and Toronto proved invaluable.\n\"You meet everybody.\"\nImages courtesy of Startup Weekend Toronto; bottom image credit: Antoine Poggetti\nGet Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit\n\nThe Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.\nDate: Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 \nTime: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. \nLocation: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036\nTickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite.\nA Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit\n\n\nMashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThe Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nWe had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social Media\nPete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThis year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSocial Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations\nMashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTeaching \u2013 and Learning From \u2013 The Old Grey Lady\nBrian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation\nEli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism\nAdam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of  Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Evolution of Sports Illustrated\nSports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom Tactile to Mobile\nJosh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Makes You Smarter\nChristy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Guide Audience\nA member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin\nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin \nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Problem of Prediction\nTony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMashable's Big Announcement\nAt Mashable Media Summit, we announced the Mashable Publisher Platform, a new editorially curated syndication experience that brings content from select publishers to our site.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Importance of Being Awesome\nFaris Yakob, chief innovation officer of MDC Partners\u2019 kbs+p and founding partner of Spies &amp; Assassins, covers from art and copy to arduinos and code, and how important it is to be awesome.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T Brings 4G to NYC\nLarry Solomon, AT&amp;T's senior vice president of corporate communications, announced that 4G LTE will be coming to New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T\nSpecial thanks to our presenting sponsor, AT&amp;T. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne on One\nBloomberg TV anchor Emily Chang talks tech with Foursquare's General Manager Evan Cohen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, Founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBreaking Down Content Barriers\nMichael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSponsors for the Mashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGetting Ready for the Post-Conference Reception\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSupporting Sponsor\nSponsorship Opportunities\nA limited number of sponsor opportunities are available for the Mashable Media Summit. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of Mashable\u2019s passionate and influential audience. Contact sponsorships@mashable.com for opportunities."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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