News 2015: WANTED: Student innovators and entrepreneurs for Startup Weekend

News 2015: WANTED: Student innovators and entrepreneurs for Startup Weekend
WANTED: Student innovators and entrepreneurs for Startup Weekend

The UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business will host a Startup Weekend for student innovators and entrepreneurs on April 17-19 at the Robert F. Stoico/FirstFed Charitable Foundation

The UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business will host a Startup Weekend for student innovators and entrepreneurs on April 17-19 at the Robert F. Stoico/FirstFed Charitable Foundation Library Grand Reading Room at the Claire T. Carney Library. 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 register, go to umassd.edu/startup. Students are encouraged to use the promotional code SWUMD2015 for an additional student-only discount. 

To learn more about Startup Weekend, go to startupweekend.org