Andrew Hyde

Andrew Hyde
Name	Andrew Hyde
Occupation	Entrepreneur; Startup community builder; Investor
Known for	Startup Weekend; Tech community development; Entrepreneurial mentorship
Nationality	American

Andrew Hyde

Andrew Hyde is an American entrepreneur, community organizer, and startup ecosystem builder known for founding Startup Weekend and co-founding ventures that accelerate technology entrepreneurship. He has played visible roles in international innovation networks, mentorship programs, and civic technology initiatives across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Hyde's activities link incubators, accelerators, universities, investors, and municipal innovation offices to nurture early-stage founders and promote experiential learning in technology sectors.

Early life and education

Hyde was raised in the United States and pursued studies that bridged liberal arts and technology, attending institutions that emphasize entrepreneurship and innovation. During his formative years he engaged with regional startup communities and student-run venture groups connected to universities and technology hubs. His educational path intersected with networks around accelerator programs and nonprofit organizations focused on entrepreneurship, leading to collaborations with peers involved in incubators, coworking spaces, and maker communities.

Career

Hyde's career began in early-stage technology ventures and community-driven projects, moving from startup participation to founding community platforms. He founded an organization that organized intensive founder events linked to hackathon traditions and startup accelerators. Hyde later partnered with venture groups, angel networks, and corporate innovation teams to expand programming that connected founders with mentors, product designers, and investors. He has worked with civic technology initiatives, municipal innovation offices, and international development organizations to export models for rapid prototyping and founder education to cities worldwide.

Hyde has held advisory roles with accelerators and incubators tied to major universities and research parks, collaborating with faculty, student entrepreneurs, and alumni networks. He has also advised seed-stage investment firms and angel syndicates on community engagement strategies, founder recruitment, and event programming that drive deal flow. His speaking engagements and workshops have been hosted at technology conferences, entrepreneurship summits, startup festivals, and university entrepreneurship centers, bringing together leaders from venture capital firms, corporate venture arms, nonprofit foundations, and government innovation labs.

Major projects and initiatives

Hyde is best known for founding Startup Weekend, an international series of 54-hour events where cross-disciplinary teams form, design, build, and pitch startup ideas. Startup Weekend scaled through partnerships with incubators, accelerators, coworking operators, student entrepreneurship groups, and multinational corporations, and it influenced the format of hackathons and maker events globally. The project collaborated with technology conferences, venture capital conferences, and civic engagement programs to foster founder networks and prototype-driven learning.

Beyond Startup Weekend, Hyde co-founded and supported regional startup hubs and coworking initiatives that linked angel networks, seed funds, university entrepreneurship centers, and municipal innovation strategies. He helped launch programs that paired founders with mentors from accelerator programs and product design studios, and he worked with platform providers and developer communities to provide technical resources during intensive build weekends. Hyde's initiatives engaged international development agencies, economic development authorities, and cultural institutions to adapt rapid-formation events for local ecosystems in Africa, Latin America, and Europe.

Hyde also founded and led projects focused on long-term community resilience for founders, creating alumni networks and follow-on programs that connected participants to early-stage funds, pitch competitions, and demo day formats used by prominent accelerators. He partnered with media outlets, technology publishers, and conference organizers to amplify success stories and to integrate founder training into larger entrepreneurship festivals and university speaker series.

Recognition and awards

Hyde's work has been recognized by entrepreneurship communities, technology media, and civic innovation groups. His initiatives received attention from prominent technology conferences and entrepreneurship awards that highlight contributions to community building and founder education. He has been invited to deliver keynote addresses at startup festivals, university entrepreneurship summits, and regional innovation conferences, and his models have been cited in discussions by accelerator networks, corporate innovation teams, and philanthropic foundations focused on economic development and job creation.

Regional chambers of commerce, city innovation offices, and international development organizations have acknowledged the impact of his programming on local startup formation, talent retention, and ecosystem connectivity. Hyde's projects earned endorsements from accelerator operators, angel investors, and university entrepreneurship centers for increasing founder readiness and creating repeatable community practices.

Personal life

Hyde is active in global startup circles and maintains residences and work bases that reflect his international engagement with tech hubs and innovation districts. He collaborates with cofounders, mentors, and partners across multiple continents, balancing community work with advisory roles for seed-stage ventures and nonprofit organizations. Outside of entrepreneurship, he participates in public-speaking engagements, mentorship programs at universities, and volunteer initiatives that align with civic technology, creative communities, and local economic development.

Category:American entrepreneurs Category:Startup community builders Category:Living people