Southern Miss Students, Faculty to Attend Startup Weekend Jackson Feb. 10-12
Wed, 02/08/2012 - 10:54am | By: Van Arnold
University of Southern Mississippi students will join members of the faculty and staff as part of the entrepreneurial venture known as Startup Weekend, set for Feb. 10-12 at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.
The intense, 54-hour program is designed to assist budding entrepreneurs in creating and launching a startup business. Although geared primarily for student involvement, the event is open to all potential entrepreneurs.
“Attending the Startup Weekend is a great opportunity for students to get a quick introduction to the business startup process,” said Dr. Jennifer Sequeira, associate professor of management at Southern Miss. “Students will get an opportunity to see how an idea can go from conception to application in just a few days.”
The weekend starts with pitches on Friday night. Participants will vote on the top ideas at that time and form teams to execute those ideas. Teams will be paired with seasoned mentors to build their ideas into a viable business. The weekend concludes with teams presenting their finished prototypes before a panel of judges.
Among the mentors scheduled to participate is Sunny Webb, director of Southern Miss' business incubator, The Accelerator.
Sequeira, who plans to attend the event as an observer, notes that the weekend could produce rewards for students beyond recognition for their business model.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to network with those who are interested in web-based businesses, investors, software developers and other that could potentially be of value as students pursue their own business ideas,” she said.
For more information about Startup Weekend Jackson, visit http://jackson.startupweekend.org/