[jasonlotito]

> I've done Startup Weekend once before and it felt like how the "The Business-A-Thon" was described.

To be fair, SW is meant to be a "Business-A-Thon" and not a hackathon in the traditional sense. This is spelled out in many places, and they make it clear up front that the business plan is key.

> I also understand that maybe SW is not aimed at being a hackathon but I just wish they could have given more weight to something that worked and was accessible today

But that's not what they want to be. I'm not saying you have to like it, but rather that your perceptions going into SW was for it to be something it didn't want to be.

[joshstrange]

> To be fair, SW is meant to be a "Business-A-Thon" and not a hackathon in the traditional sense. This is spelled out in many places, and they make it clear up front that the business plan is key.

I understand this now, I decided to do SW at the last minute and hadn't done my research. See my edit above, I see this as my fault for not researching more what I was getting into not SW failure to meet my made up requirements to be an enjoyable experience for me.

[jasonlotito]

Well, in reading these comments, it seems you aren't the only one that confuses SW with hackathon. Maybe it's the people I know locally and how they make sure to differentiate their SW and their hackathon, and how they are distinctly different. Maybe other locations just sort of stress a greater emphasis on hacking than the business side.

Regardless, it doesn't seem like you are alone. =)

[joshstrange]

Especially where I live (Lexington, KY) there are not a plethora of true hackathons to choose from. There are a few smaller language-specific groups that do some event but SW is by far the largest of it's kind in Lexington. So I jumped on SW when I found out about it. It was neat just not really what I was looking for. I get most of my "hackathon"-energy out by just meeting up with friends to work on an idea on a weekend.