Random (and not so random) acts of kindness

It just took me 24 hours to return from Madrid (where I was visiting our friends at Tetuan Valley).  It was a trip from hell – not the Madrid part, the snowed-in Frankfurt part!  But it’s strange how a few random act of kindness can help lift your spirits in the middle of a bad day.

First the Spanair stewardess spotted that I was sitting with my knees next to my ears (is it me or is the leg space getting squeezed with every new generation of low cost aircraft?).  She went and looked at the exit row and waved me to move.  Three hours later my legs and I thanked her profusely.  Then as we queued for 45 minutes to get through security, an elderly lady in front of me spotted a single mom with a child in a trolley so she lifted the rope and waved the pair ahead of us, easily saving them 20 minutes.  That woman’s look of surprise, relief and thankfulness was worth the wait.  Small, random act of kindness but they sure changed someone’s day.

It’s the holiday season so it’s appropriate to thank people whose not-so-random acts of kindness made Startupbootcamp possible.

First of all Carsten Kølbek, Morten Bjerregaard Nielsen, Morten Kristensen and Martin Bjergegaard, the four Rainmaking musketeers who shared the vision and took the first risk on Startupbootcamp (and on me).

Then of course our amazing mentors without whom there would be no program.  As David Cohen says, mentors are the secret sauce to startup accelerators.  There are too many individuals to name here but these brilliant people all volunteered their time and made a huge difference to ten startups, and to Startupbootcamp.

Next our interns, Sylvia Brune, Maribel Estrada, Mikkel Rosener and Anders Olsen.  They went way beyond what was expected of them and are the unsung heroes of Startupbootcamp.

There was a whole community of people who got involved by spreading the word, joining our Facebook page, following us on Twitter and joining our events – including the amazing group of volunteers who helped me pull off arguably the most successful Startup Weekend ever.

Finally of course the 150 entrepreneurs who applied for Startupbootcamp, and those 32 special people who were selected as part of the ten teams.  They all quit jobs, left family behind and took all sorts of risks in the hope that Startupbootcamp would deliver value.

On a more personal note, my wife Gro and kids Noah and Olivia sure took a heavy load as I ran around building Startupbootcamp.  I thank you and I love you three .

2010 was a landmark year I will not soon forget.  We took an idea and brought it to reality in record time and had a blast doing it.  Running Startupbootcamp is a dream come true and my wish to 2011 is that we can continue to build on this success story.

Thank you all and very best wishes for 2011!

-Alex Farcet