The Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence and Development (CEED) will host the first annual Oregon All-State Education + Entrepreneurship Startup Weekend this coming fall, October 23-25 at the recently completed COCC Redmond Technology Education Center.
CEED in partnership with UP Global has invited students from all 17 community colleges, 9 Public Universities, several Private Colleges and all 13 Central Oregon High Schools to participate. In addition, local would-be entrepreneurs are invited to join in.
Participants will have a chance to take an idea and run with it hard for 54 hours. Entrepreneurs will create a working business plan along with a winning pitch for a new product or service, all within one long weekend.
Up to 75students and entrepreneurs will form teams and build innovative new businesses focused on the athletic and outdoor industry.
This event is the first of its kind in the nation.
The goal of the national Startup Weekend organization, a non-profit committed to helping take ideas to startup much more accessible, is to bring together people with different skill sets for a weekend-long crash course in how to share ideas, form teams, and launch companies.
“We’re thrilled to bring the Startup Weekend model back to Central Oregon and combine it with students from around the state,” says Larry Jacobsen, event lead organizer. “This event is about brainstorming ideas, forming teams and collaborating to transform your idea into the beginning of a viable company. And, participants won’t be alone – we’re offering support from some of the best business and technical brains in the local community.”
Backed by the Kauffman Foundation, a private funder of economic research related to growth and innovation in the United States, Oregon Education+ Entrepreneurship Startup Weekend will be limited to 75 participants to allow for true collaboration and hands-on involvement. The title sponsor for this years event will be BendBroadband Business Services.
Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event,with teams working on the best ideas pitched Friday night and presented Sunday evening to a panel of judges. Startup Weekends span the globe, bringing together creative, innovative and motivated people to learn new skills, network and mingle with top industry leaders as shown here: http://bit.ly/1Fa9DDP. Interested participants can register on Eventbrite – the event link is: http://bit.ly/1ET1Z0X with more details at www.startupweekend.org.
