News 2015: UMass Dartmouth to host the first Startup Weekend on the SouthCoast

News 2015: UMass Dartmouth to host the first Startup Weekend on the SouthCoast
UMass Dartmouth to host the first Startup Weekend on the SouthCoast

Student innovators and entrepreneurs invited to attend UMass Dartmouth's Charlton College of Business Startup Weekend April 17-19

The UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business will host a Startup Weekend for student innovators and entrepreneurs on April 17-19 at the Claire T. Carney Library Robert F. Stoico/FirstFed Charitable Foundation Grand Reading Room. Students from all colleges are invited to attend. 

"We are looking for any UMass Dartmouth student with a good idea for a start-up enterprise to join us," said Charlton College of Business Assistant Dean Toby Stapleton. "We are going to connect them to other innovative and creative students, introduce them to industry experts and mentors, and help them bring their ideas to life." 

Startup Weekends, powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, are 54-hour, weekend-long, hands-on experiences  where entrepreneurs  and aspiring entrepreneurs  can find out if their startup ideas are viable.  On average, half of Startup Weekend's attendees have technical or design backgrounds, and the other half have business  backgrounds. 

Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday, teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of industry experts. 

To learn more and register for Startup Weekend go to umassd.edu/startup