TechStars Startup Weekend Lahore, powered by Google, organized by NIC Lahore and SPADES, is back for the year 2018 and will be happening from 2nd to 4th March at NIC LUMS.
What is Startup Weekend?
Startup Weekend Lahore is a 54-hour event that allows aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their business idea into a reality. At Startup Weekend, participants are provided with one of its kind platform to connect with well-known entrepreneurs and CEOs. They also get a chance to make contacts and build up a team bearing skills required for a successful startup business. This event will serve to be an entrepreneur’s one stop to turn a business idea into a successful business with a multi-membered team. Being powered by Google for entrepreneurs and NIC Lahore, the winners of Startup Weekend get a free ride to incubation at NIC Lahore.
What will it include?
The event itself is divided into three parts; pitching, developing and presenting. On the first day (Friday 2nd March 2018), each participant gets 60 seconds to pitch their idea and the top pitches are then shortlisted. After that, the shortlisted pitchers get a chance to make teams from the remaining participants. Under the guidance of different mentors and industry professionals, these teams work on developing their ideas into a business model. Day 2 (Saturday 3rd March 2018) is spent testing the applicability of pitched ideas and tweaking the idea in the domain of user research and consumer development. Finally, on day 3 (Sunday 4th March 2018), these final business models are presented in front of a reputable team of judges and the top models are shortlisted to be incubated at NIC Lahore.
Who’s coming?
Some of the notable people that have previously attended the Startup Weekend include Jehan Ara, President P@SHA and NEST I/O and Khurram Zafar, Executive Director of LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship now called National Incubation Center Lahore.
This year, like years before, we are bringing forth some well-reputed names in the entrepreneurial industry including but not limited to Badar Khushnood, Cofounder and Partner at Bramerz, Abid Malik, Director Indus Venture, Nevil Patel, Vice President Operations at i2c Inc., Ijaz Nasir, Founder and President of Manager Today and CEO Leading Edge OD and Training Consultancy, Ayesha Hamid, Chairperson The American School of International Academics, and Kynat Raza, Managing Director of Shamim Ghee Mills and Lives Cooking Oil.
If you are interested in participating in Startup Weekend Lahore, visit their website to get more information and buy tickets to the event. You can also follow their Facebook page to get the latest updates regarding the 3-day event.