Inventive passionate "idea" people with a knack for solving problems, creating time-saving solutions, developing new businesses or who are simply funny and creative are invited to attend the region's first annual "Startup Weekend: West Michigan" the weekend of Feb. 26-28 in downtown Grand Rapids.
During one intense weekend at The Factory, 38 W. Fulton Street, participants of the Startup Weekend: West Michigan conference are promised to have the opportunity to turn a big idea into a new venture. The event starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 and runs until 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28.
The organizers, two Holland area entrepreneurs, Mike Boyink and Aaron Schaap, say the goal of the conference is to "dynamically form communities around new ideas."
Boyink says participants are responsible for "bringing desire and passion to the project" and can expect to leave the weekend conference with a "clear move-forward strategy -- all in a short 48 hours.
"Come out and join us for two days of berserk business-building," says Boyink who is hoping attendees can form five to eight teams charged with launching an idea into a skeletal business plan.
Boyink says the weekend is patterned after the "Startup Weekend" event started in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, founder of a startup accelerator company called TechStars in Boulder, Colo. Similar "Startup Weekend" events have since spread to more than 52 cities and 12 countries, Boyink says.
Boyink and Schaap are hoping 50 to 60 individuals will attend the inaugural local event. They have made contingency plans for an overflow crowd if the need expands beyond the 2,000-square-foot space at The Factory, he says.
Besides creative and inventive thinkers, Boyink says "we're hoping for people (to attend) who are more experienced in the business world -- lawyers, marketers, public relations, communicators -- anyone that would be part of business launch,"" Boyink says. They are hoping to get a good mix of "the energy and enthusiasm" of the younger people and the "experience" of an older crowd, he says.
Boyink and Schaap are no slouches themselves when it comes to starting companies. Boyink, 42, is founder of Boyink Interactive, a web development company. Schaap, 29, is founder of Elevator Up, a collection of web-based businesses, and The Factory, a hip new co-working office space opened last November where entrepreneurs and other business leaders can gather to collaborate or work independently at work spaces available for rent.
The cost of Startup Weekend: West Michigan is $40 for each participant. It includes six meals and a T-shirt, says Boyink. Organizers expect most participants will be from the West Michigan area so there are no special lodging arrangements.
Participants are encouraged to register at the Facebook page of Startup Weekend: West Michigan. For more information, attend the Startup Weekend: West Michigan Town hall meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, January 26, at The Factory, 38 W. Fulton Street. It's on the third floor above San Chez Bistro.
Sources: Mike Boyink, founder of Boyink Interactive, Holland; Startup Weekend's website
Sharon Hanks is editor of innovation and job news at Rapid Growth Media. She can be reached at [email protected]
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