Startup Weekend is returning to Cleveland March 8-10 at the 5^th Street Arcades. An event that originated in Seattle, Startup Weekends occur all over the world and are designed to get people with the entrepreneurial bug together to pitch ideas, form teams to hash the ideas out and potentially form companies.

The event has not been held in Cleveland since 2009, but thanks to the efforts of Hyland Software employees Ryan Marimon and Brian Adams, it’s back and promises to be a jam-packed weekend of ideas. Anyone with a business idea, or just the desire to help build on an idea, is welcome to attend.

“There are no restrictions,” says Marimon. “The interesting thing about Startup Weekend is that many people have the notion, ‘I’m not ready to pack up and quite my job to start a new business.’ The reality is this is about community building, networking with people who have like-minded skills. You can really learn so much, no matter what you are doing.”

Participants give their pitches and the audience votes on the best ideas. Teams are then formed around the best ideas. The rest of the weekend is spent flushing out the businesses before final presentations are made to judges Kendall Wouters, CEO of Reach Ventures; Morris Wheeler of Drummond Road Capital; and Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of ColorJar.

Teams will have access to coaches from successful local businesses for advice. Teams can work around the clock throughout the weekend if they choose.

“Come prepared to not get a lot of sleep,” says Marimon. “It’s an awesome, exciting and intense weekend.” The event begins at 5:30pm Friday and run through 9pm Sunday.

Marimon says 2013 seemed like the perfect time to bring Startup Weekend back to Cleveland. “When you look at what’s happening downtown, it’s definitely a renaissance,” explains Marimon. “We wanted to use this as a springboard for that.”

Registration is $99 for the weekend and includes meals and coffee – all locally sourced. Fresh Water readers however can receive a $25 discount using the code “freshwater” in the promotional code section during registration.

Source: Ryan Marimon
Writer: Karin Connelly