iStart Jax is pleased to announce the launch of Startup Weekend NEXT (September 28 – October 26), a 3 hour, part-time program for five weeks to build the skills and tactics your startup needs to prepare for an accelerator, investor, or early-stage launch. The NEXT program, led by Startup Weekend and in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs, Techstars and GAN, will follow the course content of Steve Blank from his Lean LaunchPad at Stanford class. Startup Weekend’s Next “pre-accelerator” program will teach early-stage founders how to turn their business ideas into successful companies. Participants will learn and use basic tools for building successful companies, using Steve Blank’s Customer Development process to “get out of the building” and see if the vision is real or a hallucination.
Jacksonville is only one of 23 cities worldwide which will be hosting a NEXT program. Yash Nath, President and CEO of iStart Jax says “NEXT participants will now have the opportunity to pitch their business to several investment groups including PS27 ventures and Suresh Investment Holdings. We are also pleased to have Kevin Riley, serial entrepreneur and Managing Director at Kevin Riley & Associates | Health Model Innovation, Jessie Shternshus of The Improv Effect and Bob Dahlstrom, CEO at BluePrint Data join us in this exciting venture”.
Kevin Riley, NEXT facilitator says “Startup NEXT is designed to be an intermediate step, after Startup Weekend but before entrepreneurs enter a business accelerator - where they build a product and seek that first round of angel investor funding”.
“We’re constantly asked ‘what’s next’ by our participating entrepreneurs,” says Startup Weekend founder and CEO Marc Nager. “We are thrilled to help entrepreneurs everywhere take their next step toward success,” Nager says, “in a far more comprehensive program providing a new startup with a rigorous methodology, vital business tools, and a common language to discuss their progress with coaches, investors, and team members.” Nager anticipates upwards of 200 Startup Weekend Next programs to be completed in 2013 alone.
HOW IT WORKS
Startup Weekend’s Next offers startup teams five intense weeks:
- Week 1 - Customer Discovery: Learn to validate your ideas through in-person customer interviews using Steve Blank’s Customer Development methodology and tactics from customer development practitioners.
- Week 2 - Big Markets, Big Ideas: Hone up on skills you need to build your idea into a great company
- Week 3 – Fundability: Learn how investors evaluate what they are looking for and the milestones you need to hit for them to pay attention.
- Week 4 – Pitching Your Idea: Learn about pitching or communicating an idea for recruiting a co-founder, selling to your customers, applying to an accelerator or pitching an investor.
- Week 5 – Go to Market: Last but not least, learn strategies and tactics that entrepreneurs can implement to reach more customers and sell more.
Learn more at http://www.swnext.co/events/jacksonville-next
About iStart Jax: iStart Jax is a Non-Profit, 501 (C)-(3), Business Accelerator for Technology based Startups in North East Florida. Our goal is to provide world class resources for aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their creative ideas into growing Tech Startups. iStart Jax offers free web applications to Crowdsource and Project Manage Startups. We sponsor programs such as Startup Weekend, Google Boot camp, Monthly workshops to accelerate the growth of Startup community. iStart Jax partners with investors to help fund the startup ideas. Affiliated programs include Microsoft BizSpark, 1M\1M Silicon Valley Incubator, F6S and Startup Florida. We help redefine the startup ecosystem with the support of local and global resources by providing Northeast Florida with a viable pool of startups and entrepreneurs.
About Startup Weekend: Startup Weekend, the global 501(c) 3 that’s hosted more than 800 such events in over 350 cities worldwide. Startup Weekend is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, USA, that organizes 54-hour weekend events during which groups of 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 develop a working prototype, demo, or presentation. It has hosted more than 800 such events in over 350 cities worldwide. The Kauffman Foundation, Google, coke and Microsoft are sponsors.
