We may not be from a city notorious for its earth-shattering technological advancements, but the D.C. area certainly has its fair share of innovative break-throughs. Our worth is best proven through the multitude of startups that have sprung up out of the Capitol, including but not limited to AOL, LivingSocial, Nextel, MCI, UUNET. To celebrate our plethora of unique ideas, we sign-up for meetups put on by both members of the entrepreneurial elite as well as the startup underdogs, those still struggling to find success with their business ventures but wish to create a semblance of unity among others in the same position. It's clear that D.C. has been making a name for itself.
Though the District is often acknowledged as an up-and-coming hub for aspiring entrepreneurs, there are other areas close by that have been forgotten about in its wake. This is exactly why Sam Toriel of Rackspace has decided to spur some entrepreneurial growth in one of the greatest best-kept-tech-sector secrets on the east coast, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Blacksburg is often referred to as a college town where energy and passion is not hard to come by. Claiming Virginia Tech as its pride and joy, the area is crawling with students, businesses, and investors alike, all interested in bringing fresh, new, exciting ideas to fruition. With that said, there is one problem: currently, Blacksburg lacks a way to connect fellow innovators, and there's no meeting space to give what could be life altering concepts a chance to fly. Sam Toriel seeks to change that. Yes, he may not seem like your traditional startup leader like D.C. Tech's Peter Corbett, but Toriel sure has the motivation necessary to create a following great enough to construct a whole new image for the highly underestimated town, and he plans on starting with Blacksburg Startup Weekend.
Presently a software developer for Rackspace, a cloud hosting provider, Toriel has plenty of experience in the field of programming. With such a deep pasion and love for technology, it only makes sense that Toriel also fostered an equal affinity for startups. After attending a startup weekend in Tampa where he had received first place for his own website, CheckOutMyURL.com in 2011, Toriel realized the benefit of attending such an enormously influential event. Tampa's Startup Weekend had such a profound affect on him that he felt obligated to start his very own in the confines of Blacksburg, Virginia, his new home.
After reaching out to the official Startup Weekend facilitators, seeking out his co-organizers Brian Hazzard and Derick Maggard, acquiring the tools necessary to get started, finding organizations to sponsor, and gaining enough participants to join in the three-day inaugural event, Toriel was ready to act. This all happened in a matter of approximately four months. Amazing? Yes. Inspiring? Yes. Excited yet? Of course.
So why has he taken on such a hefty load for the community that seems to be bursting with startup flavor? According to Toriel, "Blacksburg is such an active community, but it hasn't been pushed to have bigger events. I want to help foster the growth of Blacksburg." With so many people interested in engineering and technology considering how small of an area Blacksburg is, Toriel knew that it was the perfect community to launch Startup Weekend in.
Blacksburg Startup Weekend will be host to attendees ranging from students to professionals from September 14 through September 16, three days of networking, inspirational speeches, elevator pitches, voting sessions, team work, and even possible investments. Mentors will be accessible as contacts, but otherwise all who choose to get involved could be anywhere from experts in their fields to just those intrigued by the concept of a startup.
Here's the broad breakdown of the full schedule as provided by Toriel:
September 14: Arrive in the evening for an hour of networking with food supplied. There will be a speaker to get those in attendance fired up for the event and then somewhere between 20 to 30 one minute elevator pitches. A voting session will then occur to narrow pitches down to 10 to 12, ideas that will be worked on throughout the rest of the weekend. Teams will form organically based on what is needed for each concept.
September 15: Work on developing startups with food provided all day long.
September 16: Teams will present their ideas, relay what they have accomplished, and then a panel will grant the top three highly coveted prizes.
The weekend kicks off for a whole week of entrepreneurialism in Blacksburg, so to get involved, check out the following events as provided by Caroline Pugh of VirtualU:
September 18: RB (Roanoke Blacksburg) Tech Meetup
September 19: TechPad Launch and Open House
September 20: RBTC (Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council) Fall Gala
September 21: Small Bucks, Big Bang! A 3.5 hour conference focused on bootstrapping with Virginia VC’s, Angels and entrepreneurs. There will be 10 companies present and two minute pitches to showcase tech in the region.
In my opinion, this is an amazing way for the Blacksburg community to prove that they are well deserving of a title that outlines their successful slew of out-of-the-box ventures. The possibilities are limitless for an area steadily outgrowing its small town status, ready to take on the tech world head on with its local entrepreneurial talent. So, take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your best business concepts, and come attend the Blacksburg Startup Weekend from September 14 to September 16.
