Start-up Weekend Orange County at Chapman University Nov. 2 – 4

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University in Orange, CA, is hosting Startup Weekend Orange County for budding entrepreneurs Nov. 2 through 4, 2012. This is the third Startup Weekend Orange County hosted by Chapman with the three-day event selling out each time.

Participants from all age groups and backgrounds come with ideas for a new product and are “locked in” for 54 hours, in which time they must create teams across such disciplines as designers, engineers, and marketers; formulate a business plan, and create a pitch for their product. Throughout the weekend, coaches and mentors flow through to help.

Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets – primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people – to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.

Startup Weekend is a 3-year-old program that is now global. More than 70,000 individuals in 325 cities and 100 countries have participated in a Startup Weekend since its inception. There have been nearly 700 events to date. Original founder Marc Nager, who is also a Chapman alumnus and is now based out of Seattle, says:

“It’s a good way to learn how to start a business—it always starts with an idea. Startup Weekend provides a safe forum for these individuals to share their idea and learn what it takes to take that idea to the next level. While the average age for Startup Weekend participants is 32, we also see people with 10-15 years of corporate experience who, because of the economic downturn, are finally acting on the big idea they have been stewing on.”

“Participants arrive Friday night and by Sunday evening, they must pitch their idea to venture capitalists and angel investors,” Richard Sudek, Ph.D., director of Chapman’s Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, and also chairman emeritus Tech Coast Angels. “Participants may walk away with a lead on investment money for their idea, however, more importantly, people will experience a transformational entrepreneurial process that that is unlike anything they have experienced,” said Sudek who is also a mentor and judge for Startup Weekend Orange County.

The event has filled up with 130 participants the previous two times and organizers expect this event to fill up too. Startup Weekend Orange County takes place Nov. 2 – 4, at Chapman University’s Beckman Hall Room 404, Orange, CA, 92866.

More information can be found by clicking: http://orangecounty.startupweekend.org/ Or by e-mailing the event organizer Nicole Provansal at Nicole@startupweekend.org

About the Ralph W. Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Ethics
Established in 1995, Chapman University’s Leatherby Center offers one of the nation’s most respected programs for entrepreneurial young men and women. The center aims to prepare and inspire principled, dynamic entrepreneurs whose ideas improve lives and solve important problems. Through innovative courses and real-world leadership, the center provides students with access to a range of resources, including professional mentoring, entrepreneurial internships, a multi-university network, community resources, events, speakers, research, professional groups, competitions and boot camps. Ranked as the #6 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program by Business Week, the Leatherby Center is unique in its approach to connecting students with inventors, investors and real-world entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.chapman.edu/launch

Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University provides a uniquely personalized and interdisciplinary educational experience to highly qualified students. Our programs encourage innovation, creativity and collaboration, and focus on developing global citizen-leaders who are distinctively prepared to improve their community and their world. For more information visit www.chapman.edu

Follow us on Facebook at: Chapman University Facebook
On Twitter at: @ChapmanU
On YouTube at: Chapman University YouTube Channel

###