Past event…

Apr 5 2013 Event Ended

JMU Showker Hall: 421 Bluestone Drive, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807

Ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

The professional and personal challenges, the high and lows, the failures and the success?

Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.

The non-profit organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington but Startup Weekend organizers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. From Mongolia to South Africa to London to Brazil, people around the globe are coming together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.

All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.

Whether entrepreneurs found companies, find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5, everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now for the best weekend of your life!

Harrisonburg Startup Weekend just ended but the energy and excitement did not! Come check out these great articles:

On the News: http://bit.ly/ZL0VR9
Team Winners: http://bit.ly/ZlashO
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/12EZzyX

Schedule

Friday

Apr 5

5:00pm Registration & Networking
6:00pm Dinner
6:05pm Welcome from JMU President Alger
7:00pm Pitches Start
8:30pm Attendees vote for the top ideas
9:00pm Begin Forming Startup Teams
10:00pm Formalize Teams

Saturday

Apr 6

8:00am Light Breakfast
9:30am Teams pick space and start working
11:00am Coaches Arrive
11:30am Call for needs and skills
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Coaches Help Teams
5:30pm Dinner
7:00pm Team Status Reports
9:00pm Close or Continue Working

Sunday

Apr 7

8:00am Light Breakfast
9:00am Call for needs and skills
11:30am Lunch
12:30pm Teams + Coaches
2:30pm Teams + Pitch Coaches
5:00pm Dinner
6:00pm Final Team Presentations/Judging
8:30pm Recognition/Awards
9:00pm Wrap up & Head Home

Speakers

Mr. Jonathan Alger

President, James Madison University

Mr. Jonathan R. Alger is the sixth president of James Madison University, taking office on July 1, 2012. He previously served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and has also held prior positions at the University of Michigan, American Association of University Professors, U.S. Department of Education, and a major international law firm. Mr. Alger is a nationally recognized scholar and speaker on higher education policy and law, and has taught courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Charles Chenault

Vice-Mayor, City of Harrisonburg

Charles Chenault serves on the Harrisonburg City Council and the Harrisonburg Planning Commission. He works as a paralegal for Litten & Sipe in Harrisonburg. He has worked in the areas of estate, litigation, municipal and commercial law. He also serves on the several boards including Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, Friends of Blacks Run Greenway and the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. Charlie’s favorite things about Harrisonburg is “the people, the incredible spirit of volunteerism, the school system and JMU."

Judges

Devon Anders

Mr. Anders is the President and Principal in InterChange Group, Inc. which is a warehousing, logistics and development company headquartered in Harrisonburg. He is also a Principal in Classic Distribution, Inc., a wholesale cabinet manufacturer and distributor, and A&J Development and Excavation, Inc., a full-service site development company, both of which are located in Mt. Crawford. Mr. Anders is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University where he studied accounting and business management. He is a CPA and actively serves on the board of directors of numerous charitable and industry organizations.

Lynn Suter

Lynn K. Suter is a partner with Lenhart Obenshain PC, a law firm with offices in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. Lenhart Obenshain represents businesses from formation through exit, assisting clients at the start-up phase in commercialization of their intellectual property, whether by way of private capital raises or debt financings, intellectual property licensing, strategic alliances or joint ventures. Lenhart Obenshain attorneys are experienced in tax, intellectual property, employment and securities law.

John Downey

Dr. Downey became the fifth President of BRCC in August 2009. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from LeMoyne College & a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. He completed his doctoral program in Higher Ed Administration at the University of Virginia where he was awarded the Annette Gibbs Research Publication Award. In 2010, Dr. Downey was recognized as the most supportive president of the year at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) National Exposition.

Mary Ann Alger

Mary Ann Alger has over twenty-five years of experience in finance, small business consulting, and entrepreneurship. She moved to Harrisonburg, VA in 2012. Ms. Alger serves the James Madison University community as an advisor to the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Business.

Coaches

Tim Frees

Frees is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) as designated by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners(www.acfe.com). The prime focus of his company, Frees Advice, LLC, is on developing Fraud/Loss Prevention Programs for Small Businesses. Tim has more than 30 years of management experience, most as a general manager, in the automotive retail business. He is also a SCORE Certified Small Business Mentor with the Shenandoah Valley Chapter.

James Martin

James (Jim) Martin is the Chairman of the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of SCORE, providing professional counseling and mentoring to maximize the success of existing and emerging small businesses in the Northern Shenandoah Valley region. Jim serves, as well, on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Business Incubation Association. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer for PRAMM Consulting, Ashburn, Virginia, a woman-owned, minority-owned small business working in the federal sector.

Jim Roman

Founder and CEO of Business Owners Institute, he specializes in Strategic Growth allowing you to RUN your business so it doesn't RUN you. He has owned several successful businesses such as a Hotel Guest Directory Business in the Hampton Roads area and two Business Network International (BNI) Franchises - one in the Central Virginia and another in the Shenandoah Valley and has worked with thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs to figure out what is holding them back from going to the next level and accelerating their results.

Brett Hayes

Brett Hayes, MBA (JMU '98) is the founder and owner of Zeus Digital Theaters located in Waynesboro, VA. He is a serial entrepreneur having started 8 separate businesses and an experienced angel investor. While not a programmer, he has been on the leading edge of tech for almost 20 years and enjoys business startups. He likes pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, is not into disco and has half a brain.

Meghan Williamson

Meghan Williamson, currently a self-employed entrepreneur herself, has spent the past seven years helping small businesses in the Shenandoah Valley launch successfully, including serving as the Staunton Creative Community Fund's Executive Director (2009 - 2012) and the City of Waynesboro's Economic Development Director (2006 - 2008). While she has expertise helping small businesses obtain grants, loans, and non-traditional start-up financing, more than anything loves the creative aspects of business planning that connect an individual's passion to a community need.

Peter Denbigh

Mr. Denbigh (JMU ’02 and MBA ’11) is the principal at Denbigh and Associates, based in Staunton, VA. In this capacity, he serves as a project manager for the alternative fuel vehicle industry and also pursues a number of startup ventures in fields ranging from alternative fuels to consumer products. With Virginia Clean Cities and JMU, he served as director of the $30M Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program. From 2001-2009, Mr. Denbigh started, built, and sold a successful IT firm based in Harrisonburg, VA. His also serves as a board member and project participant with Rebuilding Together Greater Augusta.

Anthony Smith

Anthony E. Smith, PhD, teaches in the EMU Business and Economics Department and in the MBA program. He co-directed the EMU MBA program from January 2008 to June 2012, and helped develop the concentration in Nonprofit Entrepreneurial Management. Dr. Smith serves as founder-CEO of Secure Futures, LLC, a solar development company that developed the EMU solar project. He previously directed the Staunton Creative Community Fund, Inc., a nonprofit community development financial corporation he co-developed with support from the City of Staunton and civic and business leaders. He has founded, co-founded and/or directed numerous small businesses and nonprofit organizations in community economic development, sustainable agriculture, energy management, and commodity futures trading in energy.

Organizers