By: Matthew Kert
Do you have an idea but don’t know how to take that next step? Having an idea is great, but starting a business is hard, especially for young and inexperienced entrepreneurs. Just getting noticed in an already idea saturated market is key to developing and ultimately getting your project to the masses. The first step is having an original and creative idea with mass appeal. But developing the idea is what most people struggle with, especially without the technical background.
Startup Weekend is a 3 day event where young entrepreneurs with all different backgrounds such as marketers, developers and designers come together and collaborate on ideas, using a 54 hour period to develop and pitch the final outcome. Because of the wide range of expertise, a small idea can grow into a full developed project in just a very short time. The Altitude Accelerator is proud to sponsor the first Peel Region Start-Up Weekend event on October 19th – 21st at Sheridan College’s brand new Hazel McCallion campus. The 3 day event will see people with all different backgrounds within and around the Peel Region come together to create the next greatest idea.
One such idea to come out of a local 2011 Start-Up Weekend which was based in Toronto was Vizualize.me. Created by Eugene Woo, he wanted to create a better way to visualize resumes and getting noticed. In today’s job market standing out is necessary and after seeing a success story about a young journalist using a similar idea, he wanted an easy way for people to make their resumes more interesting. Connecting through users LinkedIn profiles, it organizes the information visually using inforgraphics. Starting from a simple pitch on the first day, the project gained large success over the weekend, ultimately winning the grand prize. Very quickly it gained support from the general population attaining thousands of signups in just one night. Eugene Woo took a simple idea and turned it into a widely popular service in just a very short time.
Do you have the next great idea? Sign up for Peel Region’s first Start-Up Weekend and maybe your idea can become the next great innovation.
Matthew is a final year undergraduate student majoring in Communication, Culture & Information Technology and Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. He is interning at the RIC centre and is responsible for managing various social media events the company has to offer. He is very interested in advertising and marketing with a strong background in online marketing.
The RIC blog is designed as a showcase for entrepreneurs and innovation. Our guest bloggers provide a wealth of information based on their personal experiences. Visit Altitude Accelerator for more information on how RIC can accelerate your ideas to market.