StartupCafe

Launch48 is holding another 48-hour-business-building-marathon in London this weekend. The action started last night when participants descended on the PayPal offices in Richmond and pitched dozens of new business ideas. From these, four teams materialised yesterday evening, and are now working non-stop to produce functional demos, business plans, and a little marketing buzz before the event ends tomorrow night.

This weekend’s teams are:

1. MoveNearby: Search for real estate based on criteria other than price – school catchment areas, nearby facilities and services.

2. ShowMeYourDay: Searchable content for careers advice, see what it’s like to live and work in a certain profession.

3. MatchFounders: Find a co-founder easily by expertise (business or technical skills).

4. Buqoo: Help small businesses to utilise the web through analytics and tracking.

This is the seventh such event from Launch48, a growing events management startup from London. The aim of their weekend events is “to bring together participants from different backgrounds and levels of experience in the web industry to think/plan/develop and launch one or multiple web apps in one weekend.” The event itself is “frantic, energy-fuelled,” and “designed to engage all participants while offering the opportunity to learn and meet new people.”

Startup Cafe attended one of the weekends earlier this year, with three of our bloggers working on different Launch48 teams. Of these three startups, two have continued development since the weekend ended: 42 Voices, a 99 Designs-style site for the voice-over industry, and Reciply, a widget that translates recipes into the correct ingredients in online shopping carts.

And that’s what’s really interesting about this event: at Launch48, companies really do launch in 48 hours. For most participants, that speed is a breath of fresh air, a wake-up, and a revitalisation. So if you’re around this weekend, check out the huge volume of tweets and blog posts pouring out of Launch48. Better yet, if you’re in London, stop by PayPal’s offices and chip in! We think you’ll find it positively inspiring.

Note: Launch48 is coming to Edinburgh for its very first Scottish event from Oct 29-31, 2010. Save the date!