Attention aspiring entrepreneurs: The 15th annual Startup Weekend Louisville is back next month with the aim of turning your idea into a real business opportunity.
The 54-hour weekend event, powered by Techstars, will be held from Nov. 12-14. Locally-led by volunteer organizers, coaches and judges, the event is sponsored this year by CitationLabs. The weekend kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on that Friday evening at Hopewell Labs located at 731 Brent St. in Louisville’s Paristown district.
Startup Weekend is open to anyone looking to learn how to take an idea and push it forward to flesh out something tangible, according to a news release.
“You don’t need to be experienced in business or someone who knows how to code to attend Startup Weekend and get something meaningful out of it,” said Steven Plappert, co-founder and CEO of Forecastr and lead organizer of the event. “We want people to bring their unique skills and experiences to the weekend so that they can partner up with others who have their own talents and creativity. It’s about finding folks with complementary skill sets to create dynamic startup teams and building something awesome.”
Participants will have access to some of the best business minds in the region as coaches and mentors volunteer to help participants in their journey, the release continued. Participants will also benefit from hosted sessions including identifying product-market fit, creating an minimum viable product and finding those elusive first customers.
“My favorite part about Startup Weekend is the lasting impact on those that attend and the people around them," said Austin Lopesilvero, longtime organizer and facilitator. "They take these principles and apply them to their 9-5 which sparks innovation within companies across the city and nation. Participants leave with not just a startup but a process to apply to any future idea they may have down the road and the toolset and network to execute on it."
Everything wraps up on Sunday evening with an open-to-the-public pitch night, where each team pitches their business idea to a panel of judges. This year’s judges are: Paul Ford, CEO and co-founder of Traffk and managing principal of DS9 Capital; Maggie Harlow, owner of Signarama Downtown and founder of CliffDivers; and Angelique Johnson, Ph.D. founder and CEO of MEMStim.
Winning teams will receive prize packages to help them get their new businesses off the ground.
“The prize packages are full of meaningful resources," said startup adviser Lisa Bajorinas. "It’s the kind of package that can really elevate the startup to continue building out their venture like we’ve seen from previous winners CritterFacts, Agent Ally, and Pascal Tags to name a few. We’ve even produced a few Vogt Award recipients from past events."
The cost to participate in the weekend is $57, with a limited number of “early-bird” tickets available for just $37. All participants receive seven meals, experienced mentorship, three world-class workshops and a Startup Weekend T-shirt and sticker.
Tickets are currently on sale, and more information can be found at startupweekendlouisville.com.
