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• April 15, 2016

Cal State East Bay’s Hayward campus hosts an event this weekend bringing young entrepreneurs together with mentors to create networking opportunities. More than 100 people are expected to attend the annual Startup Weekend East Bay from Friday through Sunday.

Student organizer Andrew Yunker said the weekend event, which lasts 54 hours, is a unique opportunity for students to experience what it’s like pitching a startup business idea to a panel of investors. Startup Weekend East Bay is based on a similar international event called Startup Weekend™, which includes a network of more than 55,000-plus event alumni spread across more than 300 cities in 100 countries.

On the first day, participants with ideas for new businesses have one minute to pitch their projects to the entire group of participants. Others who do not have projects of their own or who are interested in offering a specific skill set can group together in teams and begin working on a business plan. On the final day, teams present their plans to a panel of judges that include CSUEB professors, software engineers and other product development professionals.

Prior to the event, students participated in several workshops about creating, building and pitching ideas for startup companies. Throughout the weekend, they will receive guidance from mentors who have successfully launched similar startups.

“[The mentors] can help give that bird’s eye view of the projects and help the students narrow their ideas or refocus them if necessary,” Yunker said. “It’s a really great process of networking with professionals and networking with your classmates, something we think everyone should do before they go into the job market.”

Prizes to the top projects include additional mentoring and three-month memberships to various Bay Area co-working spaces so teams can develop their business plans further.

Tickets are $23, but CSUEB students who participate the entire weekend receive a full refund after Sunday’s presentations.