Bend to Host Second Startup May 3-5

Bend startup weekend will connect startup enthusiasts and local entrepreneurs to share ideas and launch companies.

Have a business idea that has been rattling around in your head for months, maybe even years? Your idea could rapidly become the next great Bend business success story! Central Oregon would-be entrepreneurs will have a chance to take an idea and run with it hard for 54 hours during Bend Startup Weekend, to be held May 3-5, at G5 in downtown Bend. Entrepreneurs will create a working business plan along with a winning pitch for a new product or service, all within one long weekend.

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.

While the roots of Startup Weekend are found in the tech industry, it encourages ideas for growth businesses from all industries and seeks a broad variety of participation including graphic designers, web designers, programmers, marketers, and business enthusiasts of all experience levels, including students.

“We’re thrilled to bring Startup Weekend to our own entrepreneurial community,” says Larry Jacobsen, the event’s lead organizer. “This event starts out like speed dating for business. Individuals pitch ideas, quickly form teams, develop a business model and validate out in the community. Will your idea become the next Central Oregon success story? You won’t be alone in the building process – we’re offering support from some of the best business and technical brains in the Bend community.”

Bend Startup Weekend will be limited to 100 participants to allow for true collaboration and hands-on involvement.

“Don’t have any ideas? Don’t worry – just come and join the fun,” says Jacobsen. “You never know, you might just end up as the co-founder of a business. No matter what, you will walk away with a valuable learning experience and have an amazing time.”

Sponsors to date of the May event include BendBroadband as title sponsor, Bend’s Tech Alliance as a platinum sponsor and G5. Judges, mentors, coaches and other resources will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

General ticket price is $99 for the entire weekend, including meals. Early Bird and Student Discounts are available.

Bend Startup Weekend is an intense 54-hour event where local entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers, product managers, startup enthusiasts and anyone interested in building a business will come together to share ideas, form teams, and launch a startup.

Startup Weekend supports the development and expansion of entrepreneurship through events worldwide that educate aspiring entrepreneurs by immersing them in the process of moving an idea to market. Startup Weekend has built a network of more than 55,000 alumni, thousands of volunteer organizers and 100 trained facilitators spread across more than 300 cities in 100 countries.

Kauffman Foundation, Google, Microsoft, .Co, Sendgrid and Cloudmine are sponsors. BSW is planned and organized twice annually by Tech Alliance of Central Oregon who is dedicated to providing collaborative infrastructure, events and support for technologists and entrepreneurs in the region.