You’re in Slovenia? Good. Still a student? Even better. Then not only can you attend Startup Weekend next Friday, but if you’re used to doing stuff at the last minute, you’re at an advantage, since the registration deadline is tomorrow, 19 November. Don’t miss it!
As part of Initiative Start: up Slovenia, the global entrepreneurial event Startup Weekend is coming to the country to bring together local startup enthusiasts and business professionals for a couple of days in order to share ideas, build products and to launch awesome startups.
“In Ljubljana, the event will be organised under the global Startup Weekend licence, following all their guidelines and requests. Our sponsors and partners proposed to think bigger and add other cities, since Slovenia is in big recession. Since we all see startup entrepreneurship as one of the best mechanisms to boost the economy, we decided to do that. We added four more cities, but with a shorter timeframe since there will be smaller groups,” Startup Weekend Ljubljana’s head of PR Elvisa Basailović told inventures.eu.
Therefore, in addition to the 54-hour entrepreneurial marathon that will take place in Ljubljana on 22-24 November, the event will simultaneously take place in Maribor,Nova Gorica, Koper and Novo Mesto on 22 and 23 November.
Target audience
This entrepreneurial weekend is organised with the support of the public agency SPIRIT Slovenia and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, with partners of the local universities and institutions. It aims to attract resourceful and eager individuals who are willing to develop their business ideas using the latest methodologies such as d-school, lean startup and business model generation, as well as to be part of a creative startup team.
“The programme is primarily aimed at students, but of course we would never decline any entrepreneur to join the event, no matter age, status or any other factor,” said Basailović.
Urška Renier, one of the organisers of Startup Weekend Maribor, together with university business incubator Venture Factory, told inventures.eu that they expect more than 240 participants from all over Slovenia and over 60 participants in her city alone.
“The whole weekend will be an unforgettable experience for students. They will gain business knowledge and learn about the most interesting ways and the newest methods for building startup companies. They will also create new business contacts and acquaintances and get help from renowned business mentors and experts,” she said.
Programme
Over a short yet fun period of time (54 hours in Ljubljana, 48 hours in the other cities) punctuated with pizza breaks and coffee times, teams made up of students from various faculties will compete for building a prototype and business model. External mentors, local entrepreneurs, and passionate leaders will assist them and provide advice and guidance. The best projects will be distinguished at the end of the event.
The event will provide networking opportunities and the possibility to enrol into national programmes such as Start: up Geek House and Master of Start: ups, as well as to enter local incubators such as Venture Factory.
Registration
Rejoice students, attendance is free of charge but you must register on your respective city’s website by 19 November for Ljubljana (22-24 Nov), Maribor (22-23 Nov), Nova Gorica and Koper. However, the lucky dwellers of Novo Mesto can procrastinate a bit longer, as the registration is open until Wednesday 20 November.
