Fifth Start Norfolk Event Hosted at ODU Spotlights Entrepreneurship
September 16, 2014
A week of celebration of entrepreneurship will kick off at Old Dominion University Sept. 19-21, when the university hosts Start Norfolk, an event that challenges participants to create a viable start-up business over a weekend.
Conducted by Hatch and hosted for four years at ODU, Start Norfolk brings together individuals of different mind and skill sets - entrepreneurs, engineers, developers, designers and businesspeople - with the goal of building a viable startup over a weekend.
Local companies such as 7 Cups of Tea, Feedback Golf, Carry Norfolk and 757 Makerspace have all sprouted from previous Start Norfolk events.
Start Norfolk begins with registration Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Big Blue Room of Old Dominion's Ted Constant Convocation Center. It continues with team formation, mentoring and pitch sessions, and culminates with an award ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 21. The winners will receive cash prizes and help in commercializing their business ideas.
The event also features a dynamic lineup of speakers to inspire and inform event participants, including Tom Knox, CEO of CareFamily; Aneesh Chopra, co-founder and executive vice president of Hunch Analytics; and Marty Kaszubowski, president of General Ideas.
Prices for the weekend range from $20 for members of ODU's Student Entrepreneurship Club, to $90 for participants seeking to pitch an idea.
With tickets, participants receive access to every workshop, the opportunity to pitch, or join a team of entrepreneurs, mentorship opportunities, meals throughout the weekend, a Start Norfolk t-shirt and an opportunity to win prizes.
From the first Start Norfolk event held in late 2011, the event has grown to the point that more than 1,000 participants have taken part.
Hatch, an entrepreneurship and innovation accelerator based in Norfolk, offers a hands-on accelerator program modeled on national and international best practices, but tailored to the unique features of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southeastern Virginia.
To register for the event as a participant, entrepreneur, judge or observer, please see HERE.
For information about the event itself, see the WEBSITE.
ODU has created a campus-wide, co-curricular program aimed at nurturing and supporting entrepreneurs. The initiative will have as its centerpiece the Strome Entrepreneurial Center, which will have its dedication ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 25.
The center was made possible largely due to an $11-million gift from the Strome Family Foundation, led by Mark Strome (an ODU alumnus) and his wife Tammy Strome.