The University of Wyoming College of Business is hosting Startup Weekend to give aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to pitch new business ideas Sept. 21-23.
Techstars Startup Weekend are events held to provide experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Attendees get the opportunity to network, create, validate and receive feedback on an idea. This is the first time Startup Weekend has been held in Laramie.
“The basic way to explain Startup Weekend is that it is an opportunity for a diverse group of people to get together and be enabled to start up a business in 54 hours,” said Steve Russell, College of Business assistant dean and one of the many organizers of this event. “It can be a learning experience for people who are curious. It can teach entrepreneurial skills to people to make them better employees at their current jobs. Or people can actually start businesses.”
Startup weekend begins Friday at 5 p.m. in the College of Business atrium with a dinner followed by speakers, pitches and voting. Teams will then be formed, followed by members taking inventory of their skills and prototypes will begin to be made.
Throughout Saturday and most of Sunday teams will be able to meet with elite coaches/mentors to ask questions and advice while working on their prototype and presentation. The event coaches/mentors include Jim Drever, Abbey Hagerman and visiting professor Corey Billington.
“The big thing to remember is that we don’t expect people to build a business that will enable them to just quit their job on Monday and start running the business. Instead, the idea is to build a starting point for what might be called a ‘side hustle.’ As the business matures it will transform from a side hustle done in spare time to possibly becoming a full-time gig,” Russell said.
Sunday afternoon, teams will give their presentations to a panel of judges consisting of Business Counselor/Executive Coach Christine Langley, serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Jerad Stack and Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Happy Jack Software Mona Gamboa.
At the end of Startup Weekend, the top three teams will be announced and awarded with in-kind prizes, such as assistance with legal, accounting and marketing help from a variety of Laramie entities.
Startup Weekend Laramie is a ticketed event open to the community and students. Tickets will be $10 for students and $35 for non-students. These tickets include seven meals and a discounted hotel room rate at Quality Inn of Laramie and the Holiday Inn of Laramie. For more information or to purchase tickets see Communities.Techstars.com/usa/laramie/startup-weekend/13161.
