March 27, 2023
SSU Kricker Innovation Hub will host its annual Startup Weekend: Shawnee State the weekend of Mar. 31 to Apr. 2. An event held in hundreds of cities across the globe every year, Techstars’ Startup Weekend gives participants insight into how it feels to live, work, and create a startup company over the course of 54 hours. Startup Weekend: Shawnee State, created in 2019, allows students to pitch their business ideas, form teams, develop a minimum viable product, and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges for prizes.
"Startup Weekend: Shawnee State is such a great opportunity for students,” SSU Kricker Innovation Hub Program Coordinator Derrick Parker said. “They are bringing their business ideas, forming into teams, and then working together to put together a minimum viable product and business plan. They conduct customer validation and market research. They are crafting a pitch that they will give to a panel of local judges. The 3-day experience teaches them so much – not just about forming a business – but about working together as a team.”
All SSU students are eligible to attend Startup Weekend: Shawnee State, allowing them to gain insight into the entrepreneurship world and get real-life experience working in teams to develop and pitch ideas.
“Many professors from SSU partner with us, offering extra credit or building it into their syllabi,” said Parker. “Each year, this event gets bigger and better, and I can't wait for Startup Weekend 2023."
Students interested in learning more about Startup Weekend: Shawnee State, can visit ssuinnovation.com or contact Derrick Parker at dparker@shawnee.edu. Registration is available online at ssuinnovation.com/swssu.