A nationally recognized startup accelerator program is lending its name to a weekend of activities and a pitch competition in Pittsburgh later this fall.
Techstars Startup Weekend Pittsburgh, which will span from Dec. 2 though Dec. 4, is for anyone who is looking to learn more about and immerse themselves in the local startup scene. It's being hosted at the offices of AlphaLab Gear at 6024 Broad St. in East Liberty.
The event kicks off with participants offering an idea for a potential startup company to all in attendance. Participants then vote on the top pitches that should be pursued, and teams are then formed around trying to best turn these ideas into a viable company over the remainder of the weekend. Those in attendance will get to work with mentors and participate in workshops to help guide them along the way.
According to Jason Griess, ecosystem director at InnovatePGH and the organizer of the event, everyone is welcome to sign up to participate in the event, which he's hoping to see cap out at about 100 attendees. Registration will remain open until the event starts or until it reaches capacity, whichever comes first.
Techstars Startup Weekend has come to Pittsburgh in the past, though it had been put on hold amid the pandemic.
"You have this great mix of students and non-students, you have people with development skills, people with design skills, other people with product skills — all coming together to either try something totally new or people will come in with their own business idea and try to push something that's real to them off the ground," Griess said. "It's 54 hours of really fun startup energy."
Following the 2018 edition of the event, the three top startup finishers moved into coworking spaces to further build out their products.
"Our goal for the year is just to remind people that it's back, to bring that positive energy, and then in future years, we'll decide if we want a different track or if we want a specific topic to focus on," Griess said. "But this is just about bringing it back and making it a really fun tradition of Pittsburgh."
Tickets for students start at $30 and non-student tickets cost $40. Admission includes the aforementioned competition, workshops and mentoring but also several meals and networking opportunities throughout the three-day event.
"We are really excited for the students to get back into this tradition, but we're even more excited for people who don't view themselves as the typical startup founder to get in, get their hands dirty, and figure out what ideas they might be able to bring to the table," Griess said. "I think I'm most excited to just feel the energy in the room when everyone's working on totally different products, totally different ideas. But these are all people who are exploring this idea or building something new and exciting. I think that'll be really, really positive."
