Video: interview with National Start Up Weekend organiser Justin Scott

From its beginnings in Boulder, Colorado, the Start Up Weekend phenomenon has taken the entrepreneurial world by storm. At over 450 events around the world - including Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch - entrepreneurs have gathered to spend 54 hours brainstorming, developing and presenting their best start up ideas.

The goal is to get entrepreneurs together and help them connect with like-minded individuals offering different skills. From the coding boffins to number crunchers to marketing gurus, it takes more than just an idea to get a start up off the ground, and Start Up Weekend is the best way to create the connections that will drive a business forward.

We spoke to one of the organisers of the Start Up Weekends in New Zealand, Justin Scott, about what the opportunities are like for start ups here, and how the events have contributed to forming an entrepreneurial ecosystem.