Startup Weekend Lansing Event Friday
LANSING (WWJ) -- It only takes 54 hours to come up with the next great company or product in Lansing. At least that is the motto at Startup Weekend Lansing.
Held twice a year in the Lansing region, SWLansing is an event in which entrepreneurs and innovators start Friday evening and spend a weekend collaborating on new business concepts with the goal of putting together a business pitch presentation by Sunday evening.
Beginning Friday, SWLansing invites entrepreneurs at all stages and levels to come to the NEO Center in Lansing to pitch their ideas to one another.
After the strongest ideas take the lead, teams are formed around the ideas and businesses are developed. On Sunday, the final ideas will be pitched to a panel of judges to access additional business assistance and industry connections.
Startup Weekend allows for entrepreneurial, creative, and technical minded people to come together to see how far they can take their ideas. This year's event, a partnership between LEAP, the NEO Center, and Spartan Innovations will be held at the NEO Center business incubator, 934 Clark St., Lansing and will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
"Startup Weekend is an opportunity to test out ideas in a creative space for 54 hours," said Jeff Smith, co-director of the New Economy Division at the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, the region's economic development agency. "Most entrepreneurs have multiple ideas, and this is an outlet for them. It's like running a 5K for a running enthusiast."
"Every time we hold events like Startup Weekend or the monthly Hatching event, entrepreneurs discover a vast network of like-minded entrepreneurs, friends, services and money to help them build a viable business in our region," said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP. "The next cutting edge company could be out there waiting to be pitched by one of the participants and it is important that we are there to support it."
To find out more about future Startup Weekend events, visit lansing.startupweekend.org.
