Mike DelPrete plugs into Wellington Startup Weekend

International gaming guru Mike DelPrete plugs into Wellington Startup Weekend

Star gaming entrepreneur Mike DelPrete is looking forward to being in the midst of Kiwi entrepreneurs at the inaugural Wellington Startup Weekend on November 4-6.

Founding Agora Games in 2005, Mike is a startup junkie and fills his precious spare time with as much interaction with entrepreneurs and startup companies as he can. He grew Agora to the point where it now reaches 55 million gamers worldwide with online features to connect web-based gaming communities. The company works closely with game developers and includes such legendary titles in their stable as Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and Guitar Hero.

With that experience and more, the programme for Startup Weekend – an intense zone for creating, building and pitching smart startups over 54 hours – is an environment Mike knows well.

“At my company we run hack-a-thons every few months, where we give everyone the freedom to work on whatever they want for 24 hours, and challenge them to complete something for a demo at the end of that time. Not only is it great fun, but the quality of the work that comes out of it is astounding. Several of those projects have turned in to real products or tools for the company.”

“I’m really looking forward to Startup Weekend. I’ve never been to one before, but I’ve worked with and love working with young companies. It’s a real treat to work with energized, passionate individuals trying to build something from scratch, whether it’s a product or a company,” Mike says.

The energy in the room for the event will be palpable, with mentors from the local business community, incubator Creative HQ, WebFund, AngelHQ, other investors and a few Auckland luminaries as well as international guests like Mike. With more than half the registrations filled from centres around the country, entrepreneurs are coming from all over too.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the people involved in the challenge. I know what it’s like up here in New York, but not half a world away. I want to plug into that energy and contribute what I can to help the teams get their ideas off the ground and on their way to success.”

Mike’s humble “contribute what I can” prompts a few explanations, as he has worked with some of the world’s largest publishers – Activision, Warner Brothers, Sony and Microsoft, a sponsor of Startup Weekend Wellington. He knows how to grow business from scratch too.

“I was employee #1 at Agora. We grew organically – without outside investment – from myself to 25 people at the time of acquisition in 2009, to over 40 people as of 2011. I frequently advise other start-up companies, mentor entrepreneurs, and speak at local universities. My educational background is in human-computer interaction and interface design. While I don’t do much of that anymore, it helps me always stay focused on the user.”

Staying focused at Startup Weekend will be a key challenge for the entrepreneurs involved, with only 54 hours to cram genius into a business model and work it into an Oscar-worthy pitch presentation. It’s going to be a low-impact version of Mortal Kombat, answering the entrepreneurial Call of Duty and turning out a Startup Hero or two.

ENDS

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