Yes, Food is part of Startup Weekend!!!
Friday evening – Pizza
Saturday – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Sunday – Breakfast, Lunch, Late Afternoon snack/ hor dourves
Innovative program with overwhelming success across the country comes to Northwest Arkansas
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (May 24, 2011) – On June 10, local entrepreneurs will come together in the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development on the NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s Bentonville campus for Startup Weekend.
Startup Weekend began in 2007 in Boulder, Colorado as a small event with only 78 people. It has since blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon. According to the Startup Weekend Web site, during the event’s first two years more than 80 Weekends were held all over the globe. According to the Web site, by the end of 2010 more than 25,000 people across 100 cities in 30 countries were involved in a Startup Weekend.
“This is the first Startup Weekend in the state of Arkansas,” says James Gosserand, entrepreneur and lead organizer of Northwest Arkansas Startup Weekend. “This is a unique program that could potentially create new jobs and new industries that can grow and prosper in an area that is exceeding the pace of the rest of the country.”
The event will begin on Friday, June 10 at 5 p.m. where participants will have a chance to network and eat dinner before listening to a few guest speakers and beginning the “pitchfire” session, a time with anyone with a business idea will be given 60 seconds to give their best pitch. Once the pitches are finished everyone will vote for their favorites, and these will be the ideas worked on over the weekend.
Teams will then form organically and these groups will spend the remaining time on Saturday and Sunday working toward building their group’s business. As Sunday comes to a close, each team will then present their ideas to a panel of judges, who will select the top teams and give out prizes.
Most of the companies that have emerged from Startup Weekend are technology based such as Drop Social, an online social calendar or Zazu, a mobile application that verbally provides users with information from their calendar and favorite news sites. However, this event has also produced service providers like TandemSpring, a consulting company for small businesses in the areas of strategy and fund raising; and Neighborhood Noodle, a business that provides support for food-focused social enterprises in Detroit.
“We are extremely excited to have Startup Weekend on our campus,” said Christine Davis, Dean of Business and Computer Information Systems at NWACC. “Our students will benefit greatly from seeing entrepreneurship in action and have the chance to explore some of their own ideas.”
“This event will bring like minded people together in a safe environment from a variety of different disciplines,” Gosserand said. “Why can’t the next Facebook or Twitter get started right here in Northwest Arkansas?”
Event Schedule
Here is the schedule for the NWA Startup Weekend Event:
Friday:
- 6:00pm – Event begins / networking
- 6:30pm – Pizza & more networking
- 7:00pm – Welcome & Speakers
- 7:30pm – Pitches Start
- 8:30pm – Attendees vote for the top ideas
- 9:00pm - Teams start forming and discussing ideas
- 9:30pm – Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend.
Saturday
- 9:00am – Arrive, continental breakfast & coffee
- 9:30am – Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
- 12:00pm – Lunch
- 1:00pm - Call for needs & skills
- 2:00pm – Mentors help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
- 6:30pm – Dinner
- 7:30pm – Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
- 9 – 10:00pm -Finish and wrap up for the day.
Sunday
- 9:00am – Arrive, continental breakfast & coffee
- 10:00am – Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)
- 12:00pm – Lunch
- 12:30pm – Mentors arrive… ASK QUESTIONS
- 1:30pm - Gut check. Start prepping for presentations
- 3:00pm - Afternoon snack
- 4:30pm - FINAL PRESENTATIONS
- 6:00pm – Judging & awards
- 7:00 pm – Wrap up & Go home!
Startup Weekend NWA overview
Startup Weekend is proud to announce Startup Weekend Northwest Arkansas! This is the FIRST Startup Weekend event in the state of Arkansas.
Entrepreneurs, developers, startup enthusiasts, marketers, graphic artists, legal minds, students, etc. are invited to attend the first Startup Weekend event to be hosted in the state of Arkansas at NorthWest Arkansas Community College from April 29 – May 1st at the new Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development.
This is a state-of-the art facility with plenty of space and high-speed internet access.
Tickets are $50 for students and $75 for non-students for the weekend, and give attendees access to networking, beta testing, co-founders, software, speakers, special offers, 7 meals, beverages, swag — you get the idea! Opportunities for companies desiring to meet and mingle with highly-motivated entrepreneurs in a dynamic, intimate setting are available through financial sponsorship and/ or meal donation. More details are at http://startupweekend.org/sponsors/
In addition to sponsors, we are seeking volunteers to help with conducting this event.
Here is a sample of local hotels – we’ll provide more hotel info soon:
Towne Place Suites marriott.com (479) 621-020
Aloft Rogers (www.aloftrogers.com / 479268-6799)
Embassy Suites (www.embassysuitesnwa.com / 479.254.8400
Holiday Inn & Suites (http://tinyurl.com/holidayinn-suites / 479-845-1300
Staybridge Suites (www.staybridge.com/rogers-ar / 479-845-5701
Click here for more Rogers hotel info: http://goo.gl/maps/rApI
Click here for more Bentonville hotel info: http://goo.gl/maps/OcRV
