Ball State Welcomes Would-Be Entrepreneurs

Participants in Startup Weekend Muncie

Ball State University’s Entrepreneurship Center is ready to welcome 75 business dreamers to Startup Weekend Muncie, powered by Techstars. The three-day, 54-hour event helps participants learn how to build a company in a weekend. The center says the event kicks off Friday as attendees pitch and listen to ideas, create teams, and perhaps launch the next business startup.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, organizer Krystal Geyer said the event is geared towards people who have a business idea, but don’t know how to take the next step.

“We don’t want anyone to come and pitch something that they’ve been working on, that’s not really fair,” said Geyer, “We want these to be truly brand-new ideas that maybe you’ve been thinking about. But not something that’s been in the works for a while.”

Geyer, who also serves as assistant director of Ball State’s Entrepreneurship Center, says Startup Weekend is a global organization powered by Techstars and Google. It launched nationally in 2007 and has since grown to 150 countries.

“These events are filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and just the right amount of stress as teams race to make progress on their idea before the end of the weekend,” said Geyer.

Participants, who are often strangers, assemble teams to help each other build a business over the course of three days.

“And then they spend the rest of the weekend really building that out. By the end of the weekend, they might have a prototype, some people will have filed for an LLC. Some teams will have done customer validation, or will have a working business model,” explained Geyer.

Geyer says a lot of would-be entrepreneurs have an idea, but they never act on it. She says in this setting, attendees have comradery, support, and deadlines. Geyer says it pushes people to take a business venture from idea to startup.

“It really shows participants how much you can get accomplished in a short period of time when you’re really truly focused on something,” said Geyer. “By being able to collaborate with essentially perfect strangers, you become business partners, and it’s really fun to see what they come up with at the end.”

The Entrepreneurship Center is limiting attendance to 75 participants. As of Thursday afternoon, about a dozen tickets were still available. Click here to learn more.