Those living in any of Solano County’s seven cities who think they have a viable idea for a business may want to be a part of a unique competition being offered by the county’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
It’s called “48 Hour Start-up Launch” and is a business “hackathon” of sorts where participants will bring their toothbrushes, pillows and overnight bags and, with little rest, work for 48 hours to develop and present to the competition’s judges their idea for the next great start-up, reminiscent of an Amazon or Google. First and second place winners will be chosen and given a variety of business-related prizes.
Two 48 Hour Start-up Launch events are planned – one for adults and one for young people ages 15 to 24. They will take place the last two weekends of March with the one for adults set for March 17 through 19 and the one for youth, March 24 through 26. Both will be held at Solano Community College’s Vallejo campus at 545 Columbus Parkway in the Bill Thurston building, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and ending at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, each weekend.
Workshops are open to Solano County residents only. Preference will be given to low-income persons. Online registration and an application are required. Walk-ins on the day of the meetings will not be accepted.
Registration deadlines are March 13 for the first session and March 20 for the overnight youth boot camp. Food, drink and 24-hour facility security will be provided. Anyone interested should visit www.48hourstartuplaunch.com for a complete list of qualifications and to sign up. Registration and attendance are FREE.
“This is an exciting project and I am happy to be a part of bringing it to Solano County,” says K. Patrice Williams, owner of the advocacy firm BrandGOV and outreach coordinator for the two conferences. “The program’s ultimate goal is to inspire innovation, nurture local entrepreneurs and help create local jobs.”
Williams, an attorney, has also written curriculum for the workshops and will present a segment on the legal aspects of owning a business.
The sessions will be facilitated by Michael P. Connelly, a former journalist and marketing professional and currently senior vice-president at Accucode, a national business-support tech firm. His background also includes having owned an award-winning newspaper and working as a chief marketing officer for a number of well-known brands such as Igloo, NASCAR, and GE Capital. Kelly Penwell, the associate dean for workforce development at Solano College, will also speak, as will a number of local business owners and representatives from financial institutions.
Other items on the agendas for the overnight work-a-thons include developing a business and marketing plan; creating a budget; how to do branding and promotions; Small Business Administration financing; and the technology needs of a business, among many other topics and tasks. Complete agendas can be found at www.48hourstartuplaunch.com .
Forty-eight-hour business launch seminars have been held in some of California’s larger cities, such as Los Angeles and San Diego, and internationally, but this is the first one in Solano County.
For more information on the 48 Hour Start-up Launch events, contact K. Patrice Williams at 557-7007 x700 or email Patrice@brandgov.com.