48 hours, pain is temporary. Startup Weekend Khouribga.

I spent this weekend in a special event called : Startup Weekend Khouribga, the event is about  ringing startup enthusiasts, designers, marketers, developers to a camp of 54 hours where they are told to build their own startup in about 54 hours. The event was so intense, we started with the pitch fire, I was the last to pitch my idea in front of around 200 people, not bad. My idea wasn't chosen maybe for two reasons, first : I didn't explain it well, Second : Moroccan folks don't  have a good understanding of Design and its importance. We had to choose to work with the team we want, I chose one where a close friend was. Throughout the sleepless nights I was moving from room to room to meet the other teams and see their progress, and discuss their visual identity. The thing I found was, most of them had a brilliant idea, astonishing process and loyal co-workers,  but when it comes to how they will present their project, the colors they are using, the business identity, the logo, they didn't seem to care about that at all, and even if some of them do, they settle for average and 1992 designs. That pissed me off, and made me sad simultaneously. Some of the teams came prepared, and worked well on their visual identity, the video they were presenting in front of the jury, As I expected, the startup that won the first prize was the one who cared the most about its visual identity

. I am not biased, but I can say that most of Moroccan startupers and people in the business don't really give their whole attention to the design side of their venture. I would like to talk about one thing that I liked the most during this weekend, the last lunch we were supposed to have, my team and other teams were punished and didn't have their lunch. The reason was, that some of the individuals in each team weren't working all the time, and they just show up when the lunch is there. So we were punished with starvation, no mercy. I didn't say anything not because some of the organization committee are my friends, but rather, because I strongly believe it was a wise decision, letting a team starve for the mistakes of some of the team. If we worked together through thick and thin, if all the team didn't sleep as I and some folks did, we would celebrate and eat together. The important part is this, other teams witnessed our  predicament, each team donated half of its food to us, keep in my mind, they are our competitors, our enemies on the field. However, They all supported us with their food, drinks, desserts, we had more food than anyone on this event would even imagine, or ask for. That was very deep and touching, it meant no matter what we are or who we are, we are just, fragile humans, and we cannot survive if we do not collaborate. The compassion of other teams was breathtaking. And of course we accepted their meals wholeheartedly. Finally, this kind of events shows how a diploma is no longer valid, on the other side, how your skill can be highly valuable on the market. My team didn't win, I wasn't disappointed because the journey is what brings to us happiness not the destination. 

A photo of the team who starved for a while, but got a belly instantly.