Kyle
Startup Weekend, the globally famous 54 hour startup hackathon, continues to grow. Next weekend Startup Weekend heads to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, where Biloxi will play host to entrepreneurs, developers, coders, and their supporters while they hack the weekend away on what could become the next big business.
Startup Weekend Biloxi is being put on by Innovate Mississippi, a public-private partnership thats fueling the economy by supporting startups and innovation across the state.
Although it’s the first Startup Weekend event in Biloxi, it’s not the first in Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi held Startup Weekend last year. The organizers of that event were also on hand for Memphis’ official Startup Weekend last July. Startup Weekend is a staple in Florida cities like Orlando and Tampa.
“It’s our turn,” Stephen Witt, the Executive Director of the Innovation Center told the Sun Herald, “and a great opportunity for the Coast. Pulling together all of the entrepreneurs, designers, marketers, and innovators from all backgrounds and all ages and putting them together for a weekend of creating, designing, and launching new ventures is pure chemistry.”
Startup Weekend Biloxi will follow Startup Weekend’s normal 54 hour format. Entrepreneurs who sign up here, will meet each other over dinner on Friday evening. After that they’ll pitch their ideas in 60 second pitches where the audience will decide which ideas will be worked on all weekend long.
Once the ideas are chosen, the audience will divide up into teams and conquer the startups at hand. They’ll work through the weekend with access to mentors and coaches. Saturday they’ll go through customer discovery and work on their wireframes and pitch decks.
Sunday the teams will put together the finishing touches on their presentations and pitch to the panel of judges. Judges for the Biloxi event are:
- Bud Jones, AGJ Systems
- Dr. Lou Finkle Entrepreneur/Angel Investor
- Stephen O’Mara, Renaissance Corporation
Coaches for the Biloxi event are:
- Ryan Giles, Founding Partner CFO AGJ Systems & Networks Inc
- Mark Henderson, Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
- Matthew McLaughlin, Balch & Bingham
- Kathleen Chapman, Patent Attorney
- John Shinn, President, PPS Software
- Cathye Ross, Independent Marketing Consultant
- Charlie Beasley, MSET
You can find out more about Biloxi’s Startup Weekend and register here at startupweekend.org
