Noted investor and Whitefish philanthropist Michael Goguen will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Glacier Startup Weekend, Montana West Economic Development announced Friday.
Goguen is a venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital and has had his hand in numerous companies, including Google, eBay, Linkedin, Zappos, YouTube, Amazon and Instagram. He also has invested millions of dollars in local projects, including The Whitefish Trail, the North Valley Music School, Two Bear Air, the North Valley Food Bank and the Whitefish Review, among other causes.
Goguen will speak Sept. 19 at 7:20 p.m. at Flathead Valley Community College.
The Glacier Startup Weekend will gather more than 120 participants to pitch ideas, form teams and launch startup businesses in just 54 hours. Startup Weekends first started in Seattle but now happen all over the world. Earlier this year a startup event was held in Missoula. Mike Kazmier, who founded Avail Media in 2003 in Kalispell, has been working on organizing a Flathead weekend for nearly two years.
To register for the startup weekend or to get more information about it visit www.glacier.startupweekend.org. Registration for the event is $99 although there is a special rate for college students.