In a few weeks, the Juneau Gold Belt will morph into Silicon Valley as local devotees of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk will participate in Juneau’s first ever Startup Weekend.
The event will bring together entrepreneurs, designers and developers for a tech-forward collaboration session. Working together, participants will take a business idea from concept to launch, all in 54 hours, said event organizer Dana Herndon in a prepared statement.
The event is part of the Techstars Startup Weekend.
“Whether you are looking for feedback on an idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Techstars Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup,” Herndon wrote.
On Friday night, March 23, attendees will pitch their startup ideas to a group in 60 seconds or less. Teams will then form from the most popular ideas and the rest of the weekend will be spent creating products and formulating business plans. Teams will present their ideas on Sunday in front of a panel of judges who will award prizes to teams who pitch the best products.
Local business owners and professionals will be on hand to provide guidance and expertise. The idea is to “give aspiring entrepreneurs a taste of what it’s like to build a startup and encourages startup ideas of all kinds,” Herndon wrote.
Startup Weekend runs from Friday, March 23 at 6 p.m. to Sunday, March 25 at 9 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, go go.startupweekend.org/Juneau. Tickets are $25-$75.
