Mashup of a picture from the first Startup Weekend Omaha and the event’s logo. Image by What Cheer.

After a successful first event this past March, Startup Weekend Omaha round two will be kicking off in less than nine days at the Mastercraft building. The 54-hour event challenges attendees to present ideas, form teams, plan, implement, and then finally present their just-born startup to a panel of judges.

By Sunday evening, one team is named “winner” and awarded a small cash prize. The first Startup Weekend Omaha winner was GiftBright.com, a recommendation website for buying gifts for kids.

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Here are the details of the second Startup Weekend Omaha:

What: Startup Weekend Omaha

Where: What Cheer, Secret Penguin, and CAMP Coworking in the Mastercraft building (1111 North 13th Street)

When: September 10-12, 2010

Speaker: Cassius Almeida of CrowdPicks speaking Friday evening

Tickets: $45, register at swomaha2.eventbrite.com

When registering, enter the discount code SPN to save $10! (Offer available through the end of the day Tuesday, September 7.)*

To learn more about the event, visit omaha.startupweekend.org where you’ll find an about page and FAQ, read through our past coverage at siliconprairienews.com/tags/startup-weekend-omaha, or visit the national event website startupweekend.org.

But to get to the heart of what Startup Weekend Omaha is about, I’ve asked Corey Spitzer, one of the event’s four coordinators, to lay out his top 10 reason to attend Startup Weekend Omaha. Without further ado, here they are:

10 reasons to attend Startup Weekend Omaha

1. You can finally turn that idea you’ve been toying with into a real venture. Have you ever had an idea but didn’t have the skills to build it out? At Startup Weekend you can meet people who complement your skills and are ready to work.
2. You can join a startup without an idea of your own. Have you been itching to get in on the ground floor of a new business, but haven’t come up with a innovative or great idea? You can join up with innovators, visionaries, and creatives to work on something amazing.
3. Startup Weekend is a proving ground for your idea. You can gain valuable feedback from experienced entrepreneurs, panelists, and other attendees. The event is a great way to see if your idea really has legs or not.
4. You can try something new. Are you tired of your imagination-stifling day-to-day routine? Are you looking for an excuse to follow your passion and see where it can lead you? Startup Weekend has started letting people around the world live their lives.
5. You can collaborate and network with our community’s brightest and most creative minds. Startup Weekends of the past have induced explosive brainstorming sessions, inspiring conversations, and long-lasting connections. This is also a good way to date potential cofounders.
6. You can learn a lot. Startup Weekend attendees come with vastly different perspectives, experiences, and skill sets. In addition, we will have speakers who will go over the challenges and successes they have encountered in their journeys.
7. Now is the time to push yourself. If you’ve never done a marathon session of practicing your craft, Startup Weekend is the perfect opportunity to push yourself and improve on or explore your raw talent. It’s quite an experience.
8. You get six meals. That’s food right there. See flickr.com/photos/38253711@N02/4447249837 and flickr.com/photos/38253711@N02/4463060112/.
9. Tickets are only $45. Pretty cheap.
10. You can launch in a weekend. It doesn’t matter if you’re creating a business, a nonprofit, a blog, or something the world has never seen before. Startup Weekend gives you the facilities, the fuel, and the foundation to get you started.

Here are photos from the first Startup Weekend Omaha (from Flickr):

*Updated at 5:45 p.m. – When post was orginally published, the offer deadline was left out. Sorry about that.