THUNDER BAY -- The potential for a new event coming to the city could be a catalyst for new business.
The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, Confederation College and Lakehead University have partnered up to bring a Startup Weekend to Thunder Bay; the event has been successful in cities around the world in helping entrepreneurs connect and form solid business ideas.
Terry Smith, 27, is a programmer at a local tech startup company and has attended a Startup Weekend in Toronto. He thinks the event is a great fit for Thunder Bay.
“A big part of that is bringing the right people together, not just people who are technical or people who are marketers or anything like that, but bringing them all together at once,” he said.
The event will take place Jan. 16-18 in the Lakehead University Faculty of Law Building. It starts on the Friday with networking and brainstorming and the pitching of ideas.
Then on Saturday teams work on those ideas and have coaches and mentors available to them for any advice they may need. The weekend wraps on Sunday with a final presentation and pitch to a panel of judges.
The winning team will walk away with $500 credit towards professional services from the innovation centre that can be used for things like legal, accounting or marketing services.
Smith is already registered for the event and said he doesn’t have a business idea and plans to play it by ear.
“Coming from a technical background, I think it’s important to come in with an open mind and wait to hear if someone else has a great idea or really a real problem that needs to be solved and we can come up with a solution and build a company in the 54 hours,” he said.
The innovation centre’s community initiatives officer Kendall Kerbashian said they have been noticing more and more students considering entrepreneurship after graduation from college or university and the Startup Weekend is a great way to give them hands-on experience and connect them with people they normally wouldn’t meet.
“People tend to think it’s just for people with tech backgrounds or coding and stuff. It’s really not. It’s open to anyone with an idea or who’s curious about entrepreneurship,” she said.
“Everyone’s got a different skill set they can bring to the table so we’re really excited to see who comes out and what ideas come from it.”
Entrepreneurs are what’s building the community right now, said Kerbashian, adding there aren’t many jobs for students and they often enjoy the flexibility of owning their own business.
For more information on the event and how to register visit startuptbay.com.
