This week we hear from Dave Moskovitz, chairman of Webfund and MusicHype, a councillor for Internet NZ, and a organiser of Wellington Startup Weekend - on from November 4 to 6.

It's the first time the 54-hour marathon to cram technology venture creation into a business model has been held in Wellington. And it's not just for software developers. Dave tells us why 'Design' is a big part it.

To find out more head along to the Startup Social at Wellington Biz Dojo from 5.30 pm today (Thursday October 27), to meet the organisers and potential team members.

Tell us a bit about your background

I've been in IT for all of my professional career, but have also always had a creative bent. I won a super-8 filmmaking competition when I was in Junior High School in Los Angeles. After I got sick of working for big corporates, I became one of Wellington's Internet pioneers, and co-founded The Web Limited in 1995, a web development company. Recently I've been involved in a number of Internet startups including BookHabit, DIY Father, ShowGizmo, and MusicHype.

I've always loved music, and play trumpet and lead vocals for The Klezmer Rebs, Wellington's original Klezmer band.

Oh, and I also dabble in dictionaries, having worked on the Dictionary of NZ Sign Language and He Pataka Kupu, the Maori Language Commission's monolingual dictionary of Te Reo as well as a number of other dictionaries in NZ and overseas.

What is MusicHype and why did you want to be part of it?

MusicHype is the web platform for social music promotion, rewards, and metrics. We enable bands to get rich analytics about what their fans are doing through our proprietary Appreciation Engine and easy-to-deploy widgets which track fan activity across diverse social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Rdio, Spotify and others. Fans love the recognition and rewards they get for supporting, promoting, and purchasing from their favourite bands..

We provide the first music industry unified toolset for tracking fan activity.

MusicHype is helping rebuild the music industry, allowing bands and fans to have a direct relationship where each can provide real value for the other.

Tell us about the Wellington Start up weekend

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour marathon of Startup fun. The weekend starts with people pitching ideas to each other, forming teams around the best ideas, and building a business over the course of a weekend. Prizes will be given out at the end for the most well-executed startup.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to build a startup in a friendly environment having a lot of fun, this is a great low-risk way to tap into the energy and see what it's like.

Startup Weekend is an international phenomenon having been held in well over 100 cities worldwide. It keeps growing, and a number of interesting businesses have been generated by it. This will be Wellington's first Startup Weekend, and we have a really strong team of organisers and mentors who will make it a fantastic experience.

Why should designers be involved?

Big-D Design is at the centre of everything we do. A product that isn't well designed will find it difficult to gain traction in the market. Furthermore, a product that doesn't look good is going to get drowned out by the sweeter looking competition. Designers have a lot to add to the startup experience, and potentially a lot to learn, too. It takes Business Heads, Engineers, and Designers to make a great business, and Startup Weekend is a great place to meet like-minded people from other disciplines.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

If you're in business, remember – it's a business, not a hobby. You've got to be in business to make money in one way or another, otherwise you won't last long. Unless you have a market for your product, you'd better rethink your offering. Just being the coolest thing around won't put food on your table.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

I don't play favourites. I love them all, most of the time :-)

What’s your big idea for 2012?

We're opening HyperStart, an accelerator programme in Wellington, kind of like a cross between YCombinator, Tech Stars, and Lean Launchpad, to really speed up the process of building a startup, at the same time as raising quality. Watch out for HyperStart in 2012.

• The Big Idea 10th Birthday Questions

What does The Big Idea mean to you?

The Big Idea is the information source for creatives. There's nothing else like it in NZ.

What changes have you noticed in creative entrepreneurs over the past 10 years?

The Gen-Y's are a really interesting bunch – socially aware, wanting to change the world for the better, in many cases caring more about success of the group than individual success. That gives me a lot of hope for the future.

What are some of the opportunities and challenges for the next decade?

A decade is a very long time in the startup universe.

For New Zealand, the real opportunity and challenge is going to be to capitalise on the weightless economy, moving from more traditional physical commodities to producing valuable software, content, games, and other digital products.

That involves getting more closely connected on a person-to-person and business-to-business to the rest of the world. We need to find a balance between enjoying our isolation and participating and integrating with the rest of the world, whilst retaining our local integrity and character.

It won't be easy, but it's our collective job to make it happen.