Startup Weekend NWA Scheduled For April 1719

Northwest Arkansas Startup Weekend is set for April 17–19, at Centerspace, 1 E. Center St., Suite 270, in downtown Fayetteville.

“A sort of hackathon for entrepreneurs,” as it’s called on the event website, Startup Weekend gives aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to test the feasibility of their business ideas while connecting with local software developers, designers and marketers, as well as potential partners, mentors and investors.

Individuals can pitch their business concepts on the first evening, and teams will be formed around the top chosen ideas, as voted on by attendees.

Teams will work throughout the weekend to launch their startups and will present to an audience that includes event judges and potential investors, before the judges announce awards.

Judges for the event are Clete Brewer, managing director at NewRoad Ventures; Randy McConnell, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi X; Bill Akins, senior vice president of business innovation at Rockfish; and Kelly Miller, co-founder and chief technology officer at Field Agent.

Team coaches for the event are Michael Paladino, co-founder and chief technology officer at RevUnit; Ryan Frazier, co-founder and CEO at Datarank; Sarah Hood, senior account manager at Saatchi & Saatchi X; and Dennis Wemyss, 2013 Startup Weekend NWA winner.

Startup Weekend is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that manages hundreds of events throughout the world yearly. 

This year, the local event will focus on innovations in retail, transportation, supply chain management and food processing.

More information is available on the event’s community page at startupweekend.org.