(Cedar Valley of Iowa) – TechWorks Campus, 360 Westfield Ave., Waterloo, will host Startup Weekend Cedar Valley November 20 -22, 2015. Startup Weekend is a 54-hour weekend event, during which groups of software developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to create a working prototype, demo, or presentation by Sunday evening.

Launch Party Kick-Off

The event will kick-off with the Startup Weekend Launch Party, Friday evening at 5:00pm. The Launch Party is an opportunity for the participants of Startup Weekend to network with each other and established Cedar Valley business leaders. The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and Far Reach are launch party sponsors. Alliance & Chamber investors and the Cedar Valley business community are invited to attend.

There is no cost for the launch event, but registration is needed. Register by calling the Alliance & Chamber at 319-232-1156 or on-line at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com/calendar-of-events.php.

Following the launch event, entrepreneurs will give a one-minute pitch of their business idea. Attendees will vote to decide which ideas will be developed over the next two days.

Beginning at 7:00am Saturday, teams will form around each idea. Teams will go through the customer discovery process, prototyping and testing their business model. Local mentors will come in throughout the event to coach teams and provide expertise. Meals will be provided throughout the work day and end with an after party at 10:30pm. Teams will return on Sunday morning to finalize plans and prepare presentations. That evening, a panel of judges will award prizes to the most viable business.

Local Organizers

Startup Weekend Cedar Valley is being organized by a core group of young Cedar Valley entrepreneurs: Cody Caraway, Michael Caraway, Patrick Luensmann, Keevin O’Rourke, Valyn Reinig, and Bart Schmitz. Organizers believe the event has the opportunity to bring individuals who normally wouldn’t consider themselves entrepreneurs into the growing Cedar Valley startup ecosystem. Gold Sponsors for the event include the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Scientific Games Interactive, and Cedar Falls Utilities. Veridian Credit Union and VGM Forbin are Silver Sponsors. The Center for Business, Growth, and Innovation and the Creative Life Research Center of the University of Northern Iowa, Visual Logic, and Martin Brothers are Bronze Sponsors.

“The average attendee will be exposed to what it’s like to be in a startup, the demands it brings, and also the correct way to create a business model,” says Michael Caraway, “This all translates into a more innovative, lean mindset that individuals can take back to their employers. Who knows, some may even take the leap to start their own business.”

Startup Weekend Cedar Valley Powered by Mediacom

Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions from Mediacom Business will provide 5 gigabit broadband to the TechWorks Campus for Startup Weekend Cedar Valley expanding the scope of potential business concepts and allowing teams to develop high bandwidth applications without limitation.

Why the TechWorks Campus

“The Techworks Campus is the historic location for industrial innovation in the Cedar Valley and a hub for Iowa’s latest production and design technologies,” says Steve Dust CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and President of the TechWorks Campus. “TechWork’s Industrial Technology Center is the perfect place for entrepreneurs to launch the next great Cedar Valley success stories.”

This is the second year for Startup Weekend in the Cedar Valley. To learn more about Startup Weekend Cedar Valley, or to register, go to www.swcv.co or message Michael Caraway by email, mike@monday-creations.com.