Zapier – From The Archive

In 2011, Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, and Mike Knoop pitched Zapier at Startup Weekend in Columbia, MO. After a weekend of building, they took first place and were off to the races. Today, Zapier is a $5B company with 10M+ users. By connecting over 6,000 apps without needing code, Zapier simplifies work processes, automates repetitive tasks, and optimizes workflows for businesses.

But back in 2011, it all started with a pitch on the first night of Startup Weekend. To celebrate Missouri Startup Weekend 2025, we’re revisiting Zapier’s blog series from 2011—where Wade and Bryan documented their journey and turned it into a Startup Weekend 101. Their four-part series is packed with insights, lessons, and behind-the-scenes moments from their founding story. Full series on Zapier’s blog:

• Startup Weekend Part I – The Idea
• Startup Weekend Part II – Friday Night, The Pitch
• Startup Weekend Part III – Pushing Through Saturday
• Startup Weekend Part IV – Sunday: Demo Day

Missouri Startup Weekend continues to be a launchpad for big ideas, and Zapier is one of the best examples. Their archived blog series is a gold mine of insights, from late-night problem-solving to key takeaways on building fast. We’ve pulled some of our favorite moments below.

Part I: The Idea

Every great startup begins with an idea, and Zapier was no exception. Reflecting on the lead-up to Startup Weekend, Bryan Helmig shared:

“I first pitched the idea to my friend and now co-founder, Wade Foster, on September 8th which is detailed in the chat logs.

Pro tip: Don’t overthink it.

“I love a good technical challenge though and the idea would be a ton of fun to build. As Wade and I talked about it more, I decided to pitch the idea and boy I’m glad I did. If you’re unsure about an idea to pitch - stop over-thinking it and just do it. You’ll thank yourself later.

Part II: Friday Night, The Pitch

Friday night sets the tone for the entire weekend. As Wade explained:

“Friday night is easily the most important night of Startup Weekend. Nail the pitch, form a killer team, take care of the essentials, and go off to the races.

What are the essentials?

• Make sure everyone on the team understands what their role is for the weekend.
• Rehash the problem and proposed solution. If everyone gels with this you'll be able to build you're product during the weekend rather than spend time talking about an idea.
• Come up with a name and make sure the corresponding domain and social media accounts are available.”

Zapier’s preparation gave them an edge. Wade and Bryan had spent weeks validating their idea in forums and discussing the technical challenges. The result was a team of four with complementary skills:

• Bryan nailed the back-end development.
• Mike delivered a polished front end.
• Dan served as a jack-of-all-trades.
• Wade focused on creating splash pages and ensuring the project had a clear direction.

“The single most important thing you need for the weekend is a killer team. What makes a killer team? Lots of technical skill matched with laser-like focus on the customer.”

Part III: Pushing Through Saturday

The Team: Wade Foster (from left), Mike Knoop, Bryan Helmig, and Daniel Nill. From Zapier’s Blog.

Saturday may not have the excitement of pitching or demo day, but it’s the most critical workday. Bryan’s advice is to stay focused:

“Saturday is easily the most boring day of Startup Weekend, but in a lot of ways, it’s the most important. It’s the only day where you have 24 hours completely available to you.”

The team worked tirelessly on four main priorities: back-end code, front-end UI, the product’s core message, and generating buzz. By the end of the day, they had a roadmap to carry them through the final stretch. Bryan’s perspective on imperfection was refreshing:

“Zapier didn’t have much in place for the UI on Saturday night, the back and front ends didn’t talk to each other at all, and the core message is something we are still iterating on today. As long as you know the road map forward, you should be in good shape.”

Part IV: Sunday – Demo Day

Demo Day is the crescendo of Startup Weekend, and the Zapier team was ready to shine. Wade’s advice for a standout presentation:

“The only thing on Sunday that matters is the presentation. Forget all the grand plans you made on Friday and Saturday.”

They wowed the audience with a live demo, showcasing a “Twitter to Highrise zap” that created contacts in real-time. Their secret sauce? Getting the audience involved. Wade recounted:

“We asked the audience to tweet at @zapier. We had over 45 people tweet our name before Zapier broke. We had over 100 mentions in a 5-minute span, including some big names tweeting out our product.”

For entrepreneurs pitching at Startup Weekend, Wade’s final tip was clear: focus on your product and solution.

“Forget about the business model, user acquisition, and market size during the presentation. Save it for the Q&A session. Use your 5 minutes to catch everyone’s attention with your product and solution.”

Carrying the Torch

Zapier’s Startup Weekend story didn’t end in 2011. The team returned in 2012 as mentors, but Wade and Mike couldn’t resist building a gag startup on the side: PRLibs, a “madlibs” tool for creating startup press releases. While PRLibs didn’t take off—earning the tongue-in-cheek title of “worst startup of all time”—Zapier’s true success was already well underway. 

Zapier’s journey from a Startup Weekend pitch to a $5B company is proof that big things start small. Their blog series ia a playbook for scrappy founders on building fast, solving real problems, and making things happen at Missouri Startup Weekend.

If you’re gearing up for MOSW 2025 (or any new venture), take notes. The best ideas don’t come from overthinking—they come from executing.

Missouri Startup Weekend is April 11th - 13th, 2025. 

Grab Tickets & Check Out the Full Schedule | Shop the Swag Store