This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in TechStars Startup Weekend (October 17-19), and I'm still buzzing with energy and insights. What started as a Friday evening gathering transformed into an intense 54-hour journey of problem-solving, customer discovery, and entrepreneurial thinking that challenged everything I thought I knew about building a business.

Day 1: Feeding Innovation

Unlike typical hackathons that focus on coding, Startup Weekend is about building actual businesses from the ground up. This year's theme, "Feeding Innovation," struck a chord with me. It wasn't just about improving existing food systems—it was about creating solutions that drive lasting impact, from ensuring families have reliable access to nutritious meals to designing supply chains that eliminate waste and building sustainable practices for future generations.

Our team of five came together around a shared passion for food security and community solutions:

• Myself: Project management, marketing, and strategy

• Sarah: Vision, strategy, design, and business-building experience

• Inna: Creative direction and business analytics

• Alokik: Database, computer science, and technical expertise

• Ram: ERP experience and technical implementation

We were diverse in skills but united in purpose—to reimagine how we produce, distribute, and access food.

Day 2: Falling in Love with the Problem

Saturday was a masterclass in entrepreneurial thinking, and it completely shifted my perspective. The day's mantra? "Love the problem, not the solution."

The Hard Truths About Startups

Our facilitators didn't sugarcoat the reality: the #1 reason startups fail isn't lack of technology or bad luck—it's no market need. Following closely behind are running out of cash, having the wrong team, and getting outcompeted. These aren't random failures; they're preventable with the right approach.

We learned about the Innovation Framework, which boils down to three critical questions:

1. Do enough people WANT what you're building?

2. Can you make ENOUGH money at it?

3. Can you make something easy to use?

The Customer Discovery Revolution

Here's where things got real: we had to get out of the building. Not literally (though we did), but metaphorically—we couldn't just sit around brainstorming. We needed to talk to actual people about actual problems they've actually experienced.

The key insight that hit me hardest? People don't spend money to "improve, maximize, or perfect" things. They spend money to avoid, reduce, prevent, minimize, mitigate, or eliminate problems. This distinction is everything.

Our Problem Statement

After hours of discussion and refinement, we landed on our core problem: Food from the grocery store is cheaper than local food produced in Alberta.

Our solution? Make eating local CHEAPER than eating from the industrial, pesticide-dependent global food system. How? By building a marketplace that takes a smaller percentage than existing platforms, passing savings directly to consumers while supporting local vendors.

The ICP Deep Dive

We spent considerable time on our Ideal Client Profile (ICP), and I learned that it's not about the company—it's about the person. Through a process called bifurcation, we kept splitting our market in half until we found our true 12.5% niche:

• Whole market → 50% / 50%

• → 25% / 25%

• → 12.5% (our sweet spot)

This focused approach isn't about limiting your market; it's about dominating a specific segment so well that word-of-mouth spreads naturally.

The Interview Framework That Changed My Thinking

We learned to conduct customer discovery interviews—not surveys, interviews—with a crucial rule: only ask about the PAST, never the future. Here's the framework we used:

• Have you ever had this problem? (If no, move on—their opinion doesn't matter)

• When did the problem start to happen? (identifying the trigger event)

• What was the outcome you hoped to get?

• What did you do to solve the problem?

• What made you choose that solution?

• How much did you spend?

• How happy are you (1-10) with what you use today?

• Where can I find more people just like you?

That last question is gold—it turns every interview into a pathway to more potential customers.

The RIPES Framework

We also learned how people justify purchases through the RIPES framework:

• Risk avoidance

• Image (make me look good)

• Proclivity/expenses (spend the same money, get more done)

• Expenses (same stuff done, spend less money)

• Simple/Speed (75% of the time, the easiest/fastest option wins)

This framework immediately helped us position our value proposition more effectively.

Day 3: The Pitch

Sunday arrived with a mix of excitement and nerves. After two days of intense problem-solving, customer interviews, and strategy refinement, it was time to present our solution to a panel of judges and fellow participants.

We synthesized everything we'd learned:

• Our clear problem statement

• Evidence from real customer interviews (not assumptions!)

• Our unique value proposition for vendors

• The trigger events driving demand (pesticides, cancer concerns, microplastics, soil health, climate change)

• Our go-to-market strategy targeting our specific 12.5% niche

The pitch went incredibly well. The energy in the room was electric, and you could feel that we'd done the work—we didn't just have an idea, we had validated demand and a clear path forward.

The Results and Reflections

We came in 4th place in a race that judges told us was incredibly close. While part of me wanted that podium finish, I walked away with something more valuable: a complete transformation in how I think about entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways

1. Fall in love with the problem, not your solution. Your solution will pivot, but if you deeply understand the problem, you'll always find a way to add value.

2. Talk to strangers. The simplest way to de-risk your business is to speak to people—real people with real problems who've spent real money trying to solve them.

3. Narrow your focus to expand your impact. Trying to serve everyone serves no one. Find your 12.5% and dominate it.

4. Evidence > Assumptions. The riskiest assumptions are those with no evidence. Test everything, assume nothing.

5. Ask about the past, not the future. People are terrible at predicting their future behavior but excellent at recounting their past actions.

6. Your ICP is the customer who PAYS. Don't confuse users with customers. Focus on those who will actually open their wallets.

7. Network is everything. As we heard throughout the weekend, the #1 success factor for entrepreneurs is building a big network. Events like this aren't just about the learning—they're about the connections.

Moving Forward

As I reflect on this weekend, I'm struck by how much of what we learned contradicts conventional wisdom. We're told to dream big, think about the future, and have confidence in our ideas. But the reality is: start small, ask about the past, and test your assumptions relentlessly.

The question now isn't whether our specific startup idea will succeed—it's whether we'll apply these principles to whatever we build next. Because these aren't just lessons for one weekend or one idea. They're the foundation of entrepreneurial thinking that can be applied to any venture, any problem, any market.

To the TechStars organizers, our amazing team, and everyone we interviewed along the way: thank you. You've given me a framework that I'll carry forward into every venture I pursue.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some customers to interview.

Have you participated in a Startup Weekend or similar event? What was your biggest learning? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.