(Ridgeland, Miss.) – Innovate Mississippi announces that the next Startup Weekend will be held April 29 – May 1 at the Coalesce Cooperative Working Environment located in Downtown Jackson. Innovate Mississippi has partnered with Coalesce to host its fifth Startup Weekend Jackson event.
Powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, Startup Weekends are intense 54-hour events that operate worldwide, bringing together aspiring entrepreneurs, programmers, developers, graphic artists and other business-minded individuals for weekends of company creation.
This year there is a special emphasis on education-based ideas, with an added track and prize category in place to encourage potential new technologies, apps and programs that can benefit educational institutions. K-12 educators, collegiate and university faculty, collegiate students majoring in education and school administrators are encouraged to participate.
“We are proud to host our fifth Startup Weekend Jackson and again bring together innovative individuals who take ideas and turn them into real companies over the course of a weekend,” said Tony Jeff, president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. “It’s fun to see an event where programmers, coders and graphic artists are the ‘rock stars’ everyone wants on their team and to see them combine with business leaders to create real companies.”
The agenda begins with entrepreneurs pitching their business proposals to the group, who then votes for the most promising 8 to 10 ideas. The group divides into small teams and spends the rest of the weekend focusing on a single business idea, developing a proof of concept, demo or finished product. Mentors help fine-tune each idea into a “working company” with potential profits, and a panel of seasoned professionals evaluates each team’s startup and their chances of real-world success. The event concludes with an awards ceremony where the top three teams receive in-kind prizes from local service providers and sponsors.
Organized by the employees of Innovate Mississippi, Startup Weekend Jackson is being presented by Coalesce. Additional event sponsors include Baker Donelson, Good Design & Code, InnovateMEP Mississippi, School Status, Think Webstore and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Coalesce is proud to partner with Innovate Mississippi to present Startup Weekend Jackson and also provide the event space,” said Matthew McLaughlin, owner of Coalesce and attorney with Baker Donelson. “This event offers aspiring entrepreneurs a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn and experience the process of business creation – all in a collaborative, interactive and fast-paced environment.”
The mission of Startup Weekend is to provide a high-energy, collaborative environment that facilitates experiential education and meaningful connections. Participants also build long-lasting relationships and may even walk away with a job or an investment. To add further value to the experience, each team will continue to consult with the entrepreneurial development team at Innovate Mississippi in developing their business plans.
Contact Tasha Bibb, entrepreneurial development manager at Innovate Mississippi, at tbibb@innovate.ms for more information on volunteer and sponsorship opportunities. Visit www.innovate.ms for event information and to purchase tickets, which include all meals for the weekend.
All Startup Weekend events in Mississippi are organized by the employees of Innovate Mississippi. Follow all Startup Weekend Mississippi events on Twitter via @SWmississippi or visit their Facebook and LinkedIn pages by searching Startup Weekend Mississippi.
Innovate Mississippi is a nonprofit organization with the mission to drive innovation and technology-based economic development for the State of Mississippi. Visit www.innovate.ms to learn more.
###