Courtesy Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce
At the core of our innovative business community exist our startups and small businesses. Their success and growth is paramount to the success of our local business community and is one of the primary focuses of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce. It is for this reason that the Gainesville Chamber is excited to be sponsoring Startup Weekend in Gainesville on Oct. 26, 27, and 28.
Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement that unites creative and intelligent minds together for an unforgettable weekend of ideation and new venture creation. It is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to embark on their first business venture or develop a business concept already established.
Cox Communications is powering the event to take it to the next level. Maureen Tartaglione, Cox regional manager for Government and Community Affairs, said each event helps highlight start up activity here, but, taken together, have the potential to help make Gainesville a national “innovation competition destination.”
“As a high tech company, Cox has an interest in helping highlight the talent and infrastructure we have locally to help grow our innovation economy,” Tartaglione said. “We want companies to know that one important benefit of starting or relocating a business to Gainesville is the availability of our award-winning fiber-hybrid network and blazing fast speeds of up to 10G.”
On Oct. 28, competition starts all over again with the launch of the 3rd Annual GAIN Investor Pitch ShootOut, a day-long education and competition event created by the Gainesville Area Innovation Network, an organization that has worked to “inspire, educate and connect” entrepreneurs for almost 30 years. GAIN executive director Lee May said Shootout participants compete for $2,500 cash and thousands in smaller monetary and in-kind services, including business and legal services. Also on the line is a coveted $500 Stetson cowboy hat.
From 2-5 p.m. participants can attend educational panels featuring some of the country’s leading experts in startup funding, social media marketing and advantages of incubator support. A full description of speakers and events is available at GAINnet.org.
Competitors registered for Startup Weekend will have less than three days to pitch ideas, form teams and create prototypes to present to a panel of expert judges. As they are doing so, they will have access to mentors, speakers and games in popular start up spaces to keep their creative juices flowing.
Visit Gainesville.StartupWeekend.org for more information on Startup Weekend, including registration information, speakers, judges, mentors, and much more. Click here to directly reach registration.
