Columbia Startup Weekend is back after two-year hiatus
Say you have an idea for the next great technology product that can make the lives of other businesses easier, or you have an idea that can aid the general public, such as through a mobile or web application.
But you’re just one person or a small team and don’t have access to the mentorship and monetary resources or other knowledgeable people to get your business off the ground.
That’s right where Columbia’s Startup Weekend can step in and help.
This year’s Startup Weekend is this coming Friday through Sunday, after a two-year hiatus. Lasting 54 hours, it is an intensive competitive weekend to launch what could be the next great tech startup.
Startup Weekend is being held at the EquipmentShare headquarters on Bull Run Drive in Columbia.
Among major sponsors and event organizers is Scale, a hybrid accelerator fund and venture studio. Scale is an investment fund providing capital for businesses that are just getting started.
“Expectations for next weekend would be we get a good turnout from the community and people learn about startups,” said Brett Calhoun, Scale director of operations. “It’s a great networking event and opportunity for folks to meet each other in Columbia.”
It allows for collaboration among people who may want to gain certain business skills or other types of skills, he added.
Scale was founded by leaders of the Columbia-based EquipmentShare, a previous Startup Weekend winner when the event was under the purview of Influence and Co.
EquipmentShare provides digital and hardware solutions for construction equipment tracking along with equipment rentals. Founded in 2015 by Willy and Jabbok Schlacks, the company has grown to employ more than 2,700 people at more than 80 locations across the U.S. and is valued as a company at at least $1 billion.
“Hosting Startup Weekend aligns with Scale’s mission to identify entrepreneurs with the potential to build high-growth, scalable companies and bring good ideas to the marketplace,” Jabbok Schlacks said in a statement.
What happens at Startup Weekend?
More than 90 people already are signed up to participate in this year’s Startup Weekend, Calhoun said.
“Startup Weekend is a platform for us to really get the community together and help entrepreneurs and folks get out of their comfort zone to pitch an idea, form a team, work on an idea and then possibly launch that business, giving them all the resources they need,” he said.
There is not a monetary prize for Startup Weekend, but winners receive automatic placement into Scale’s Accelerator Program cohort. This program helps provide the connections a startup needs to succeed, including capital.
“Even though it is more for technology startups, we do welcome anyone to come participate,” Calhoun said. “It still is a great opportunity for people to come, participate and meet (others) in town that could help them with their business.”
He offered an example of how Startup Weekend could play out.
“Let’s say we have 100 people coming. Maybe 40 have an idea, the other 60 just want to have come have a good time (to network),” he said.
Those 40 people will offer their pitches. That will be whittled to the top 10 ideas and teams are formed around those 10 ideas. This can include people with backgrounds in marketing, user experience design and tech engineering, so the business can be built from the ground up and ready to go after the 54-hour event.
“When you are forming your team, you are going to be strategic about it,” Calhoun said.
Teams can rely on a slew of mentors for help. Mentors will conduct office hours throughout the weekend event for teams, Calhoun said.
“On Sunday, everyone will have a presentation to pitch to our judges and they will decide who has the best business model, the most innovative,” he said. “Yes it’s a competition, but we are there trying to have a good time learning about building a startup.”
What Scale does
Scale, as a venture capital and business accelerator company, works to support and bring businesses to the Midwest, and in particular, Missouri.
“We are an investment fund that is investing capital into Missouri startups. In addition, we are also working with funds from coast to coast to attract capital here,” Calhoun said.
In other words, if capital funds come from outside of Missouri, they still are investing in Missouri businesses.
“We have two cohorts per year that last for 12 weeks where we invest in four (or more) tech startups,” Calhoun said. “We offer operational support to our companies, investor and industry expert network, mentorship, and capital to our companies.”
Scale invests at the first-money stage as venture capital for a startup or for a person with a good enough idea. There are other types of venture capital funds, but Scale is focused on the early stages.
“Startups need capital because there is low or no revenue that can fund hiring top talent to build tech products and test various channels to sell the product,” Calhoun said. “… We want to solve the capital problem.
“In doing that, we carry out some of these community events like Columbia Startup Weekend.”
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