September 20th to 22nd, entrepreneurs and creative minds will be taking over the newly renovated Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex at the University of Toledo for Startup Weekend Toledo.
No Talk, All Action – Launch a Startup Business in a weekend
Think you’re the next Mark Zuckerberg and want to revolutionize the way people interact? Want to challenge the status quo of the business world with a new innovative concept? Now is your chance to learn more about becoming an entrepreneur and, in one weekend, creating and launching a business.
What is it?
A community of entrepreneurs, business startup enthusiasts, web and software developers, designers, marketing gurus and anyone interested in building a business will come together over the course of a weekend to share ideas, form teams, and launch a startup. Lindsey Danforth, lead organizer said, “This isn’t just a happy-hour. Startup Weekend attracts our community’s best makers and doers…” Judges will include W. Gene Powell, President and Chief Creative Officer of Spoke, Vijay Raghavendra, a Strategy Director at IBM, Anneliese Grytafey, Esq., Senior Program Officer at the Toledo Community Foundation,
and others.
Learn through the act of creating
Participants don’t just listen to speakers, but form their own theories while putting them to the test along with other passionate individuals from a variety of backgrounds. A lot of local tech and startup leaders take part in Startup Weekends.
Zach Kraner survived Startup Weekend last year and has since launched his own apparell and accessory company, Intrinsic Made. He said, "Startup Weekend showed me that you don't have to sit around and wait for something good to come along. With a good idea, good people, and lots of hustle you can make things happen."
How it works
Anyone at the event is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from other participants. Teams form around the top ideas and then it’s 54 hours of business model creation, coding, designing and market validation—complete chaos, in true startup fashion. Throughout the event you receive one-on-one time with the movers and shakers from around the community who work as coaches and judges at the event. Last year one of the teams caught the attention of Mayor Bell who invited them to his office to discuss their idea further.
Hard work pays off
This isn’t just a fun weekend workshop though,according to Danforth
“Globally, over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months. Roughly 80% of the participants plan on continuing to work with their team or startup after the weekend.” Not only will you be joining a global community of over 30,000 Startup Weekend Alumni but also according to Danforth, “you will build long-lasting relationships and possibly walk away with a job or even an investor.”
You don’t have to have a multi-billion dollar idea to come. Behind every Steve Jobs there’s a Wozniak. Maybe you have the skill set like coding or a business sense that someone else can’t bring to the table. The sky is the limit with ideas. Danforth said, “Startup Weekend is designed to be the most effective platform for growing new businesses from the ground up over the course of the weekend. A key facet of the weekend – and a central value for participants—is the spirit of complete collaboration, buy-in, and ownership. “
Concluding the event, Sunday night the new business ideas will be pitched to a panel of judges. The winning team receives six months of part-time memberships to Seed Coworking. Second place wins a four-hour name and branding workshop with BrandCore. The Third place team gets a two hour Buchanan Nipper "IP Strategy Brainstorm" with IP Attorneys. Fourth place is a two month membership to the UT Coworking space. Additionally, during the weekend attendees will have the chance to participate in a research study by answering 3 short surveys throughout the weekend and receive $20 upon completion! All attendees may pitch an idea at the event.
Attendees must register ahead of time. Tickets are $20-40. To register and for more info, visit toledo.startupweekend.org