Page 39 - Flathead Beacon // 8.27.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
BUSINESS MONTHLY
AUGUST 27, 2014 | 39 GLACIER STARTUP WEEKEND
FRIDAY, SEPT. 19
6:30 P.M. Registration Starts 7 P.M. Dinner & Networking 7:20 P.M. Welcome & Speakers 7:30 P.M. Pitches Start
9 P.M. Attendees vote for the top ideas 9:15 P.M. Teams start forming and discussing ideas
10 P.M. Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 20
8 A.M. Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 8:30 A.M. Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend
12 P.M. Lunch
1 P.M. Call for needs & skills
2 P.M. Coaches help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!
6:30 P.M. Dinner
7:30 P.M. Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help
10 P.M. Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
8 A.M. Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee 10 A.M. Call for help
11 A.M. Coaches arrive
12 P.M. Lunch
1 P.M. Start prepping for presentations 3:30 P.M. Final presentations
5 P.M. Judging & awards
5:30 P.M. Wrapup
STARTUP
Continued from page 37
entrepreneurship and startups up here,” Kazmier said. “We’d love to just foster that.”
During the weekend, participants work in groups to develop real-world startups, and they have access to a team of coaches and mentors who help them when they hit stumbling blocks along the way.
It’s a way to connect with other en- trepreneurs, Kazmier said, and it’s also a valuable experience to show that start- ing a business is possible.
“A big part of it is to demystify the entire process,” he said. “I think a lot of people have a lot of apprehension about the startup world and what it takes to be an entrepreneur.”
Perhaps a participant is well-versed in the IT world, but wants to connect to people in finance, sales, marketing or other specialties; a Startup Weekend is a great place to do so, Kazmier said.
Kim Morisaki, the special projects and business development director at Montana West Economic Development, participated earlier this year in a Startup Weekend in Missoula, where her team’s product was selected as the best by a pan- el of judges on the last day of the event.
The business, Contractor Sherpa, is still active, and will go live in Septem- ber. Though Morisaki is no longer part of Contractor Sherpa – participants can choose whether they want to stay
involved with the startup – developing it during the weekend was an eye-open- ing experience.
“It’s an amazing thing, it’s not like anything that I have ever been to,” Mori- saki said. “It’s not a business class or a fi- nances class. It is hands-on, build a busi- ness in 54 hours.”
Along with all the energy from the gathered entrepreneurs, attendees are propelled along throughout the week- end by the coaches and mentors gath- ered to share their expertise.
The coaches range from technology wizards to lawyers who can help teams with patent issues, bringing all the ex- perts an entrepreneur would need under one roof.
This year’s coaches are Will Schmautz, of Nomad Global Communi- cation Solutions; Jerry Meerkatz of the Thompson Group; Jeff Heutmaker of Heutmaker Law; Rob Irizarry of Black- stone LaunchPad at MSU, Kudoso, Code Montana and RightNow Technologies; John Frandsen of Old Town Creative; Mike Kazmier, also of Vubiquity, Code Montana; Ty Weber, SignUp Cheetah, Northwest Imaging, Winner of Start- Up Weekend Missoula 2013; and Lori Marin, financial/operational executive formerly with Diversey Inc. and Keebler Foods Company.
The judges will be Travis Pine, CEO of Torrent Technology; Chad Wait, OVP Venture Capital; Diane Smith, CEO of American Rural, formerly with Avail- TVN; and Larry Cates, Cates Invest-
ments and Margaritas Restaurants, for- merly with Pepsico Restaurants.
Participants do not need to have an idea to pitch, Kazmier said, and most don’t. Many people are there because they love the energy of the startup en- vironment – the nimble, free-spirited business world as opposed to a large, conventional company – while others have ideas to grow.
This year’s event will start with a pre-party at Kalispell Brewing Compa- ny on Sept. 5 from 5 to 8:30 p.m., where hopefuls can pitch ideas to the week- end’s coaches and judges, and the best pitch earns free registration to the Sept. 19 weekend.
Now that he has retired from Avail- TVN, Kazmier has entrenched himself in the startup world, forming Aneovia, a business incubator and accelerator for nascent ideas.
There are plenty of entrepreneurs in the Flathead to take advantage of a Startup Weekend, he noted.
“When I first got my company start- ed back in the early 2000s, I was blown away by the number of people who own their own business,” Kazmier said. “Ev- eryone up here is so humble. It’s not like in New York or the Silicon Valley scene, where everyone is out puffing their chest and being the biggest fish in the pond. Up here, people are just successful.”
To register for the Glacier Start- up Weekend, visit www.glacier. startupweekend.org.
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$2 OFF
Entire Guest Check
Receive $2 off your entire check of $10 or more. (Does not include tax or gratuity.)
Valid Everyday, Anytime, Excluding holidays. Dine-in only. Offer Expires 10/5/14 Please present coupon when ordering. Offer valid only at Kalispell IHOP restaurant. Not valid with any other coupons,
discounts, specials or senior menus. Limit one coupon per person per visit. No cash value. © 2014 IHOP IP, LLC.
20% OFF
Entire Guest Check
Purchase any item from our regular menu and receive a 20% discount off of the entire check.
Valid Everyday, Anytime, Excluding holidays. Dine-in only. Offer Expires 10/5/14 Please present coupon when ordering. Offer valid only at Kalispell IHOP restaurant. Not valid with any other coupons,
discounts, specials or senior menus. Limit one coupon per person per visit. No cash value. © 2014 IHOP IP, LLC.
$5 OFF
Entire Guest Check
Receive $5 off your entire check of $25 or more.
(Does not include tax or gratuity.)
Valid Everyday, Anytime, Excluding holidays. Dine-in only. Offer Expires 10/5/14
Please present coupon when ordering. Offer valid only at Kalispell IHOP restaurant. Not valid with any other coupons, discounts, specials or senior menus. Limit one coupon per person per visit. No cash value. © 2014 IHOP IP, LLC.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
6 P.M. Event concludes 20% OFF
Breakfast, lunch & dinner.
Not necessarily in that order.
©2014 IHOP IP, LLC
KALISPELL
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