Join us at #ETHDenver

Carlos De La Lama-Noriega
5 min readFeb 17, 2023
You’re so much more than just an employee of The Corporate World ©

TL;DR: WE ARE OFFERING FREE SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS for 8 lucky winners who are attending #ETHDenver #BUIDLWeek. Dates: February 23rd to March 6th. Location: Our hacker house in Lakewood, just an 18-minute drive from the site of ETHDenver #BUIDLathon & Festival. Apply here.

Hey everyone! Mama Carlos here. It’s been a while since I last wrote, so I’m excited to update you on all the news from Startup Embassy. This time I’m writing to tell you about our project for the upcoming #ETHDenver Festival and #BUIDLWeek Hackathon. I’ll be attending with my teammate Rodrigo and we’re looking forward to learning more about web3 technologies and how to implement them in the game we’re building. This is also a great opportunity for us to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs and build a strong and supportive community.

What is Startup Embassy?

To give a little background, Startup Embassy is a family-like environment for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. We started our hacker house in Palo Alto in 2012 and have since grown to become a family of 2000 members from 90 countries around the world. Together, we have raised more than 1 billion dollars and have even had the success of creating three unicorns! But the true strength of our community is not just in our success, but in the way we have come together, living and learning from each other, mentoring, and sharing our experiences in building our startups. As Mama Carlos, I am incredibly proud that our family has been able to come together and build something so successful and rewarding.

What is Startup Embassy’s “Backpacker Edition”?

As someone who has attended many conferences as a solo attendee, I know how difficult it is to get connected to your tribe and feel the community experience. That’s why I came up with the idea of hosting a “Backpacker Edition” of Startup Embassy, where I rent a house and invite other solo buidlers to stay for free. At regular conferences, it can take several days to meet enough people to feel the community experience. With Startup Embassy’s Backpacker Edition, we create that experience from the start, and in the end, we are able to make friends and connections that will last a lifetime.

Our Experience in Bogota

Last October, we launched our first “Startup Embassy Backpacker Edition” in Bogota, Colombia for the Devcon 2019 Conference. We rented a hotel (as I found it difficult to find a nice house) and invited other solo buidlers to stay for free and join us in the hacking experience. We had an incredible time getting to know each other, working together, and helping each other out with projects. We also had the pleasure of meeting some amazing entrepreneurs and forming meaningful relationships with them. It was an amazing experience that we would not have been able to live if it had not been for the Backpacker Edition. We are now great friends with all of the people we shared this experience with, and we are so grateful for the chance to connect and collaborate in this way.

ETHDenver and the BUIDLWEEK Hackathon

Next week at #ETHDenver I will be joining my teammate Rodrigo in the #BUIDLWEEK Hackathon, where we plan to learn more about web3 technologies and how to use them to build a game to gamify our community of founders at Startup Embassy. Although I am a relatively web3 newbie, I am excited to learn more and connect with fellow buidlers in the space. At the hackathon, the goal is to not just build something exciting but to also build a great community. We are looking to meet and collaborate with like-minded founders who may be experts or not but who are looking to have a great time learning about web3 and building relationships with others in the space. We’re also looking forward to meeting the mentors and potential funders who will be present at the hackathon. We are hoping the hackathon will be a success and we can take away valuable information and connections for our own projects. But most of all, we just want to have fun and make some new friends.

A Place for Web3 Novices

As both myself and Rodrigo are web3 novices, we understand that it can be intimidating to show up at a hacker house full of experienced developers. We want people to know that when they come to our hacker house, they don’t need to be experts in web3 technologies but rather like-minded entrepreneurs who are looking to meet other buidlers, learn and have a great time. We believe that everyone, regardless of their experience level, has something to contribute and that the best way to learn is to get real-world experience. We are here to provide the perfect environment for that.

How to Apply:

In order to apply to the Startup Embassy Backpacker Edition for the ETHDenver Festival and the BUIDLWEEK Hackathon, you must meet the following criteria:

1. We will prioritize solo founders, but if you are a team, you are still welcome to apply.

2. We will prioritize Bufficorn holders.

3. You must attend the #BUIDLWEEK Hackathon.

4. You must Play this game and finish it: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeN0TEf3Ck71UVodf_G491qpNfnxTm8LZ9mHV9cxcypREFYhA/viewform

With this game, you will get to know better how we work at Startup Embassy and if you are a good fit for us.

Mama Carlos is waiting to meet you

As I’m preparing for #ETHDenver and the #BUIDLWEEK Hackathon, my stomach is in knots. I’m feeling way out of my comfort zone. I was never a web3 expert, and I’m still a novice. I’m scared that I won’t be able to keep up with the other hackers. But I’m also excited. This is a chance to learn something new. To get out of my comfort zone, and learn together. If you feel like me, you are welcome to join us.

Our mission with Startup Embassy’s “Backpacker Edition” is to provide a safe environment where entrepreneurs can come together to learn, build, and collaborate. We are excited to meet more entrepreneurs and build more connections in the web3 space. We hope to learn more about web3 technologies and how to implement them in our projects. We believe that the connections we make will help us grow as entrepreneurs and create a stronger and more vibrant community of founders.

So what are you waiting for? Apply here!

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Carlos De La Lama-Noriega

Carlos is the CEO and founder of Startup Embassy, a coliving space in Silicon Valley with a global community of more than 2000 entrepreneurs in 90 countries