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Startup Weekend Spokane is a local competition aimed at creating new businesses.

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Entrepreneurs gather at Startup Weekend
10/30/2014

By Valerie Putnam
Splash Contributor

What if you had 54 hours to launch a startup business?

That's the premise behind Startup Weekend Spokane that runs Nov. 7-9 at Gonzaga University Jepson Center, 502 E. Boone Ave. The event is a weekend competition for entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas and collaborate with others to create a viable product.

"Job creation is the cornerstone of what we are trying to do," said local organizer Connor Simpson, whose idea of Barter's Closet won the first Spokane event. "We want to inspire more people to create more businesses."

The event supplies entrepreneurs with the experience, resources and contacts to start a business. 

"This is the garage where everything gets going," said event volunteer and past participant June Swatzell of Liberty Lake. "We're putting together a startup talent pool."

The event is open to entrepreneurs with new business ideas. It also invites individuals who want to get involved with a winning team and help build on the idea. 

"The weekend is centered on action, innovation and education," Simpson said. "A lot of people that come to Startup Weekend have a very unique skill set."

The event begins Friday night with open microphone, allowing contestants a 60-second pitch to sell the idea to a crowd of peers, family and friends. The crowd selects who goes onto the next phase. 

"It's really tense," Swatzell said about the voting. "You have three choices to make."

Winning entrepreneurs recruit teams of the talent they need to transform their vision into reality.  Local mentors are available to join a group or consult through the process.

The team spends the remaining weekend developing a business model, creating a prototype and validating their idea.

"You try and validate your concept with little capital or as little resources as possible," Simpson said. "Do everything yourself. Cash is the last resource." 

On Sunday evening, the teams present their prototypes in front of a panel of six local judges. The winning team will have the opportunity to present their idea to Spokane Angel Alliance, a local organization of investors. 

"Our hope is that by providing these resources to the winner, they will be in a position to be successful with their startup long after the weekend is over," Simpson said.

The event's main sponsor, Limelyte Technology Group, Inc., is donating 40 hours of development and consultation time to the winner. 

"It's about empowerment," Simpson said. "You can do this. You can start this, and we provide the tools to do it."

The event is open to all ages. During Spokane's first Startup Weekend, a 13-year-old girl's idea won. Brooke Martin, then a student at North Central, developed IC Pooch. This internet-enabled device allows dog owners to video chat with their animals and dispense dog treats from afar. 

"She is one of the most successful," Simpson said. "She is doing real well." 

Other ideas presented during previous weekend events include a sprinkler that sprays out different colored water, a text translator that turns a person's voice into pirate speak, and a successful spice selling ecommerce site Spiceologist.

"There is no bad idea," Simpson said. 

According to an article written by UP Global and Startup Weekend CEO Marc Nager, Startup weekend began as an LLC in 2007 by three guys working out of a condo.  The Seattle-based company reorganized into a non-profit in 2009.  

The first Startup Spokane event was in April 2012. There have been more than 1,000 events worldwide since the inception.  

"It's a total community effort," Swatzell said. "We've seen such good results with it."

Another benefit of the weekend is developing a social network, which can be a resource long after the weekend is over. 

"I've been really lucky with Startup Weekend support," Simpson said. "I was able to meet a lot of like minded people.  I wouldn't be where I'm at today if I hadn't gone through the original Startup Weekend."

• • • 

IF YOU GO ...
Startup Weekend Spokane
5:30 p.m. Nov. 7 to Nov. 9

Gonzaga University Jepson Center
502 E. Boone Ave., Spokane

Tickets are $90 and include seven meals, portfolio materials and more. The event can accommodate 120 participants; scholarships are available.

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