Smartsheet To Host First-Ever Startup Weekend in Bellevue

Bellevue, Wash. – June 26, 2013  This weekend more than 100 entrepreneurs from around the Northwest will come together at the headquarters of Smartsheet (www.smartsheet.com), a leading online collaboration software provider. At this first-ever Startup Weekend hosted in Bellevue, participants will work together to share and refine new product ideas, form teams, build prototypes, and launch startups. At the end of the 54-hour frenzy, awards are given to the most promising new idea. Interested participants can learn more at http://bellevue.startupweekend.org

“It’s hard to believe there hasn’t been a Startup Weekend in Bellevue before – especially with the tremendous growth of technology firms in the area,” said Mark Mader, President and CEO of Smartsheet. “We’re very excited to bring the experience to Bellevue, not only to support the growing startup community, but also to infuse the area with potential economic growth. It’ll be exciting to see what game-changing ideas the teams come up with this weekend.”

Event attendees have a wide variety of backgrounds, from developers, coders and designers to those in marketing, finance and law. All attendees are welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams are formed around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it's energy-packed days of business-model creation, coding, designing, and market validation.

Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee will kick-off the weekend’s activities, highlighting the growth and support for startups and entrepreneurs in the city. The weekend will culminate with team presentations in front of local business leaders, including Julie Sandler, Senior Associate, Madrona Venture Group; Gillian Muessig, Founding President Emeritus, Moz; John Creason, Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder, Smartsheet; and Tony Jacobson, Director of UX/UI Design, Smartsheet. Awards will be given to the winning team.

More than 45,000 people have participated in a Startup Weekend around the world, and roughly 80% of participants plan to continue working with their team or startup after the weekend. For more information on Bellevue Startup Weekend, follow the live event coverage on the Smartsheet Twitter and Facebook.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company, offers businesses an intuitive online collaboration tool. The ease of use of the familiar spreadsheet-like interface, coupled with file sharing, work automation and Gantt chart features have made it a popular and highly functional online collaboration tool for teams. Organizations worldwide rely on Smartsheet to help them manage their work. Customers include construction companies, consulting firms, schools and universities, utility firms, government entities, healthcare organizations, high-tech firms, non-profits, manufacturing and law firms, among others. Smartsheet also offers pre-built templates and integrations with leading cloud apps including Google Drive, Box and Salesforce to ensure users are up and running quickly. Visit www.smartsheet.com for more details.